Under These Lies
by toolsofdestiny
Summary: With every new planet comes a new challenge. However, for Ratchet the planet Terra never stops. New friends, allies, and foes force Ratchet into adopting a new life. But how long can the Lost Hero hold on to his past? And how long can he fight his own future? Backed up by other Lombaxes, Ratchet must help them protect the city of Zropolis whilst finding a way back home.
1. Welcome to Terra Leave Weapons Outside

**You are not dreaming. Under These Lies is BACK.**

* * *

**_Welcome to Terra. Leave Weapons at the Door._**

"You've asked my name five sperate times"

"Yes well I am just being thorough"

"Holy zoni" The Lombax being questioned leaned back into the metal chair he had been sat on for too long. What could he say? The man across from him was not joking when they said they were being thorough.

He didn't have a watch on him but he could roughly guess he had been sat here for about an hour answering questions in this impossibly clean room. The bright fluorescent light reminded him too much of a dentist's office. Though the metal chairs and table suggested gave it more of a torture chamber vibe. Although to him there wasn't really much of a difference between the two.

"Look, like I have told you already my name is Ratchet. I'm a Lombax. I came here, wherever here is, from Kerwan in Solana. I don't remember much of the crash, just a big bright light. I'm a mechanic from Veldin and I have some friends that I kinda wanna send a distress signal to so if you don't mind hurrying this up I will be on my merry way back to my ship" Ratchet flashed a smile before crossing his arms over his chest. It was almost like an invitation to challenge him.

Which would be great except he didn't have any of his weapons on him. Nor his omniwrench.

"Alright, Mr. Ratchet-"

"Ratchet is fine"

"Alright then, Mr. Ratchet" the man repeated, "I am just checking you are not a potential threat after we found that rather advanced weapon on your person"

"Buddy, I literally came here with just a combustor and a tool. What damage could I do?"

_A lot. Just ask some of the prisoners in Zordoom_

"I'm sorry Mr. Ratchet but as you can imagine it is necessary for everyone's safety. Including your own."

Ratchet couldn't help but look the man up and down after he said that. This guy didn't exactly have the power of youth on his side anymore. His deep green skin was covered in wrinkles and what little hair he had left on top of his head shone bright white in this light. The glasses he wore on the tip of his rather small nose were also a dead giveaway. Have you seen anyone wearing thin wiry frames? In this decade?

"Sir, yes sir," Ratchet said with a mock salute. Why was he being extra cocky today? Maybe it had been too long since a fight. Retirement wasn't exactly the thrilling lifestyle he used to lead. Sure, he and Clank got into the occasional scrap at Talwyn's call or whenever they drew the short straw in helping Qwark get out of whatever trouble he had gotten himself into but it wasn't the same as having the constant threat of having to save the galaxy always at the back of your mind.

"Now can I please ask you to elaborate on how you got here?"

"Can I know where 'here' is first?"

"Oh yes, why didn't you just ask?"

It took Ratchet everything he had not to roll his eyes. "This is the planet Terra in the Shaw galaxy"

"I have literally never heard of this place?" and Ratchet meant it. When Ratchet was a pretty active hero he heard about a lot of other galaxies. Sure, he had only visited a few of them but he had had a lot of interaction with people from other galaxies. Clank even more so after Secret Agent Clank became a huge hit. And Ratchet would hear all about them when he saw Clank again after shooting or an event that his 'butler' was not invited to (whenever Clank offered to talk to the director about letting Ratchet into events he would always answer, "I wouldn't wanna go anyway, pal. I got replaced by a monkey. Even I can't live that down")

But Ratchet had never heard of this place. So just how far from home was he?

"Well, we are a small galaxy. Consisting of one solar system made up of 11 planets orbiting a single star" the man took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes which made Ratchet feel like something bug was coming, "Terra is the only planet in the solar system with inhabitants as far as we can tell. We are completely alone"

"That's… okay that is not comforting" Ratchet sighed, "How many people are here?"

"Four billion" the man stated matter of factly.

"Four billion?!" Ratchet repeated in disbelief, "That's barely anyone and that is coming from the guy who grew up on Veldin!"

"So you're from the Solana galaxy" The man muttered, typing it down on the pad in front of him. Ratchet almost groaned. He had literally told this guy two minutes he had come from Solana.

Ratchet shuffled uncomfortably again in the chair. "How much longer is this going to take?"

"We will be done soon. First I must debrief you on where you are and what you shall be doing"

"Like a prisoner" Ratchet tensed up and balled his fists, ready to fight, "I'm not your prisoner"

"No, you are not. You are no one's prisoner so you may relax" Ratchet ignored his request and remained on high alert anyway. His eyes constantly darting between the man opposite and the door behind him. It was most likely locked so he would have to wait until someone entered before making his own escape. He would have to find his own weapon and a way back to Aphelion.

Aphelion.

"What happened to my ship?" Ratchet asked slowly, still waiting for a fight.

"Oh yes! The starship…" The man swiped about on the pad for a moment before continuing, "Aphelion! I'm sorry to say but it was damaged severely in the crash. We're still surprised you made it out okay"

Ratchet relaxed as his brain switched from fight mode to mechanic. Aphelion was a tough ship who had been through a lot. Between whatever her last owner took her through on Fastoon to what Ratchet and Clank (and occasionally Qwark) had put her through she had always made it through with barely a scratch (except the time the Zoni ended up having to help out). Whatever this man declared as 'serious damage' was probably not going to be hard for Ratchet to fix.

"How bad is bad? I am a mechanic"

"Well… it's better I show you" The man flipped the pad for Ratchet to see.

And what he did see made him suck in his breath. Aphelion was literally in pieces. There was a hole in her hull that was so big Ratchet could see the engines. And the lack of. One wing was barely hanging on whilst the other one was completely missing. She was also missing most of her landing gear and was barely standing.

The man swiped to the next picture. The inner console. Every screen was smashed or missing. Wires and burn marks galore. The driving stick was ripped out and lying in Clank's seat which was torn to shreds. The canopy was broken and covered in millions of cracks and holes. Glass was covering the whole cockpit.

Even repairing her to at least safely flying would take years. And that's with taking all the available shortcuts. In this situation, any other person would recommend just cutting his losses and getting a new ship but Ratchet couldn't do that. Aphelion was his. She wasn't just a ship to him. She was one of the only parts of Fastoon he had. His past.

And she also had a personality of her own. She was a friend.

So if it means staying to repair her then that's what he will have to do. Starting with her communication systems.

"Challenge accepted" Ratchet mused before smirking.

The man stared at him blankly before continuing. "Until you repair your ship you will be unable to leave, do you understand? No contact with friends or family"

With a heavy heart, Ratchet answered, "I know but I also know they'll be looking for me. Even if I can't get hold of them they'll find me. I believe that" And he did.

Ratchet was so stupid not to wait for Clank. Sigmund had called that morning with a puzzle-related issue. Clank immediately offered to solve it but one then turned to ten puzzles. Then twenty. Sigmund and Clank were just solving random ones now, they were getting caught up in the 'thrill' as Sigmund put it when Ratchet asked what they were doing. Clank just seemed so sucked into the puzzle they were solving that Ratchet didn't want to interrupt him. So when he realized he needed to go over to Veldin to pick up some parts from Grimroth's garage, he told Clank to stay put. He would be back by the evening at the latest.

That was yesterday. Grimroth probably called as soon as Ratchet didn't show up. The search had probably already begun.

If Clank had been there maybe he would have known what the bright light was and how to avoid it. Maybe Ratchet wouldn't even be here if he had just waited.

"Well, if you're going to stick around here it is best I show you to your commander. He will debrief you better than I"

"Like I have any choice" Ratchet grumbled to himself. He was still in disbelief about the whole situation. Which means he wasn't exactly focussing on his manners right now.

The man ignored him, "So you will be on Team Echo with the other Lombaxes." He said it pretty casually as if he didn't just drop a huge bomb on Ratchet.

Ratchet shot up, "I'm sorry, what did you say?"

"You will be on team Echo"

"With the other Lombaxes? That's what you said, right?"

"Correct though we can have your ears checked for damage after the crash, if you wish?"

"I heard you just fine it's just that, y'know, I'm the only Lombax there is? And you just said there are others?" Was this some sort of joke? A prank? A trick? Ratchet looked around the room to see if there were any way's that someone could be watching, filming his reaction or something.

Maybe Nefarious was behind this? Some sort of sick trick to use against Ratchet? No, this wasn't his style. He was more about yelling about squishies and doing (most of) the work himself. Maybe this was someone new?

This guy said he would show him to his new commander, whatever that meant. Which means leaving the room and getting a better idea where he was. And who he was going to fight to get out here. "Can I meet them? The Lombaxes?" Ratchet asked.

"It will be Commander Green's responsibility to introduce you to them. He is one of them actually." The man stood up, "He will be waiting for us in the room opposite. If you would like to follow me please"

Ratchet stood and watched the man walk towards the door and open it. He took one step forward hesitantly. Then another. When he was close enough to peek out the room the man walked through the door, leaving it open behind him.

There was no one in sight holding any weapons that Ratchet could see but that didn't stop him inching out the door slowly with balled up fists. Hand-to-hand wasn't his strong suit but it was good enough in a pinch.

The corridor was much different from the room he had been in for so long. It took a moment for Ratchet's eyes to adjust to the change of light from the harsh fluorescent bulbs to the natural sunlight flooding through the tall windows that lined the light blue walls. There was the occasional light wooden door with plates on them, but Ratchet was too far away to read them properly.

The other man had taken the lead and had walked into the room opposite that the name 'debrief' written on the dark blue plate stuck to the door, again leaving it open for Ratchet to follow. He did as soon as he caught sight of the Lombax with his back to them as he was leaning to grab something from across the desk. Ratchet stood next to the man, still working on believing what he seeing.

The man nodded to the back, "Commander Green, sir."

"Intero, for the billionth time you can call me Michael" The Lombax in question turned to face the pair. He seemed stunned as soon as his eyes fell onto Ratchet, "They told me you were a Lombax but I thought they could be joking"

"You and me both" Ratchet comforted before holding out his hand, "I'm Ratchet"

"Michael Green" Michael smiled, shaking his hand. "And I guess welcome to Team Echo? Not that you had a choice"

"Hey, that's what I said!" Michael laughed before looking over to the older man, who Ratchet now knew was called Intero,

"I can take it from here, thanks."

"Yes, Commander Green" Intero nodded before taking off without so much as a goodbye. Not that Ratchet wanted one. He was happy to have to longer stare at his stupid green wrinkles and white hair (he didn't even care how mean that sounded, he had been stuck in that room far too long with him).

"Still Michael!" Michael yelled after him before shaking his head and turning back to Ratchet, "Sorry. Can I get you anything? Water? Coffee? Answers?"

"I'll go for answers. Your guy wasn't exactly helpful" Ratchet answered, pointing back with his thumb to where Intero had just left.

"He never is," Michael said truthfully. "I'd offer you a seat but I have a feeling you've been sat down far too long"

"You have no idea" Though the chairs in this room looked far more comfortable than the metal chairs of lower-half death from the interrogation room, Ratchet's legs needed the stretch. Between sitting (and crashing) in Aphelion to sitting in that other room for hours, his tail had been cramping up for nearly an hours and his knees were begging for him to stand.

Michael leaned against the wooden desk that was behind him, also ignoring the plush chair behind it. It gave Ratchet a chance to have a better look at this other Lombax (which was still something he was yet to get his head around). Michael was only slightly taller than him but he had slightly smaller ears with only one brown stripe cutting horizontally through the middle of his golden fur.

Michael gave off this impression that he was pretty confident in what he was doing. From leaning against the desk to the smile he had over his face. Though he seemed initially stunned, Michael seemed to have quickly gotten over the whole there's-another-Lombax thing.

Which although that is what Ratchet thought, it was not what Michael was feeling. He was just very, very good at pretending to be calm and confident when really his mind was screaming _'WHAT THE ACTUAL HELL'_

"I'm sure what Intero told you about this place must be a huge shock, trust me it is to everyone who ends up here"

"There's gotta be some way of getting to another galaxy? Or contacting them?"

"We're working on it. It would mean a lot to a lot of people if we could" Michael's smile turned soft, "You got family?"

"Friends. We're kinda like a family though" Ratchet just hadn't thought about it like that until now. When the chance of seeing them again soon was beginning to lessen with every conversation he had.

Michael nodded, "I get that. Echo is like my family"

"Echo is the team of Lombaxes, right?"

"So Intero did tell you something useful!" Michael brightened up again, "So there are four Lombaxes and one half-Lombax. The only reason they're not here right now was that I didn't want to overwhelm you. You'll meet 'em soon though"

"How long have you guys even been here?"

"Since Tachyon attacked Fastoon" Michael's smile finally dropped as he looked off into the distance. Ratchet felt a little guilty for asking now. He might have not been able to remember Fastoon but Michael looked older. Old enough to remember. "It's…it's a long story"

Ratchet sat down on a chair opposite the desk, not caring that his knees were happy about it, "Sorry to hear that"

Michael didn't budge from where he leaned but gave a small smile, "It's okay, you have the right to ask questions. This must be a bit crazy for you"

"Still working on believing it all"

"It'll take time but we'll be here to support you through that" Michael crossed his arms, the confidence returning to him. What Ratchet was not aware of was that the whole time he had been talking to Interro, Michael had been up here pacing back and forth trying to figure out a speech with the help of Echo. "Interro should've told you, Terra is a Class One planet. I'm gonna guess you probably don't know what that means-"

"Means a planet is cut-off and because of it they don't know about other intelligent life" Michael raised an eyebrow, "My best friend is a nerd who is fascinated by that kinda stuff. You don't hear about them that often though"

"I didn't even believe they existed before coming here if I'm being honest" Michael sighed, "But it's true, they're near impossible to leave. Sure, you can get off the planet easily enough but then you're stuck floating in space. There aren't any galaxies for billions and billions and billions of lightyears. Too far for even the best of hyperdrives to handle. And someone is yet to invent one because it's near impossible"

Ratchet thought it over in his head. He had been up against slimmer odds before. Like that time he flew Aphelion through a black hole. Or saving the Great Clock. Or finding Clank again after the Zoni took him. He had pulled through them. Getting off a Class One planet? Without Aphelion? If he had the right tools and equipment he could pull through it. He managed to get off Veldin, didn't he?

With a heavy heart, he remembered how he got through it all. With Clank's help.

He always had his help. Even when Ratchet was searching for him. This time he won't have the voice on his back helping solve problems. Someone to help him through the hardest of times. Clank always had his back. Both physically and metaphorically.

So Ratchet had to go it alone. But that doesn't mean Clank wasn't with him. All he had to think was what would Clank say to him in this situation?

Someone had to have one. Otherwise, how did we get here?

"Someone has to have one, how else would I have gotten here?" Ratchet vocalized.

"That, Ratchet, is the question. There are a few theories on how it can be possible which our team's tech specialist will run through with you. I would but I don't even really have a clue myself. Annie is the expert. What can I say? I guess she got the brains whilst I got the…I can't think" Michael now seemed to be talking to himself more than Ratchet.

"Sister?" Ratchet asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Twin" Michael answered, "We came here together. But that's part of that long story. Right now my focus is helping you"

"Help me how?"

"Through the adjustment period. Getting used to life here-"

"I can't stay here" Ratchet blurted out. "I have to get back to my friends, Michael. I have to find a way off"

Michael sighed before taking the seat next to Ratchet. Ratchet had a feeling this wasn't going to a happy conversation. Or one that Michael hasn't already had.

"I know. It is very hard to hear but until we do find a way, and we will, you have to remain here. A.T.P.O will support you and all they ask is your help in return"

Ratchet couldn't help but laugh, "That sounds like some sort of dictatorship"

Michael smirked, "Yeah, they need to work on their pitch. It's really not that bad though. They give you a job, money, housing, and some pretty interesting adventures if that's your style. They'll train you if you want. All they ask in return is that you help them protect this planet"

"Protect it? From what? This is a Class One!"

"Doesn't mean there's a lack of enemies" Michael stood, "But again, that is someone else's talk. I…well you'll probably find out why later I don't give you that talk."

Ratchet nodded, something in him told him it would not be wise to argue. Michael continued, "A.T.P.O stands for Alien Terra Protection Organization. Though the Terra's here don't know it, 'bout 25% of their population are alien. Not all of them good. It's our job to keep them in check and fight them if needed"

"Sounds…fun?" Ratchet frowned, "Why don't Terra's know about aliens?"

"It was some law that was decided years and years ago when this place was first created. The creators believed that Terra's would capture aliens for scientific purposes. Or some would turn on aliens and it end in genocide. So, it was decided that aliens would live in secret but protect the Terra's from other aliens who didn't agree with this idea"

"There's always someone"

"Yep, and they went on to create our enemy DESTROY. All caps, very dramatic. They believe that aliens should rule over the Terra's so we fight to stop them from doing so" Michael jumped up from the seat and began to walk towards the door. Ratchet stood up as well but didn't move to follow him. "A.T.P.O is made up of various teams who look after their own zones. Echo covers the city Zropolis which is where we are right now"

"And you guys just expect me to join? What if I say no?" Ratchet challenged. No one had told him yet and it was about time he asked. Both Intero and Michael had talked like Ratchet had no choice. Ratchet couldn't help but feel slightly alarmed by this. Intero had said he wasn't a prisoner, but he was yet to feel different about it. Sure, they weren't lying when they said he currently had no way off judging by the state of Aphelion but that doesn't mean he has to automatically do everything they say?

Michael sighed and turned back around to face Ratchet, "Look, you seem like a smart guy and you have a right to hesitate. So I will be honest with you. Judging by your weaponry and ship, which I know don't seem that advanced to you but here they're top of the line, A.T.P.O is likely to consider you a high threat and would most likely keep you in one their… facilities. They'll keep you there until they find a way to boot you off the planet"

"So I basically have no choice"

Michael shrugged, "It is what it is. Work for them and you have all the freedom you want. Go against them and they treat you no better than DESTROY. Between you and me I don't fully agree with it but until they feel comfortable telling all of Terra we're here we don't exactly have a choice"

"Great" Ratchet muttered to himself. It really did seem like he had no other option but to join them. If he went to prison then he would have no way of being able to work on Aphelion. She was probably being kept here and she was too broken to be able to fly so it's not like Ratchet could go on the run with her. He still wasn't sure about the planet. He would need to get a better idea before making an escape.

Plus he was yet to meet the other Lombaxes. So far what Intero had said was true. Michael was one and he had mentioned others. Even if he were to make an escape later on, Ratchet still wanted answers as to how they were even here in the first place. He couldn't leave before then it would drive him crazy not knowing.

So with a nod Ratchet said, "I guess I'm in team Echo then"

Michael smiled, "Welcome to the team. Now if you're ready I think it's time we met the other Lombaxes"

"I'm ready"

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**Wow it was fun coming back to this story.**

**For those who are new, hello! Let me explain. Under These Lies was my very first (only) story. It began 5 years ago and went on for some time. However, two years ago I decided to take it down. I was no longer happy with it and felt it did not tell the story I wanted to tell. **

**Two years have passed since then and I am now much more confident in my abilities to tell this story (for instance a huge change is that we've gone from 1st person to 3rd person. If you had told me when I originally started I would have _screamed)_**

**So to those who stuck around, thank you. And to those who are new here, welcome. I am happy to see you.**

**NEXT CHAPTER: Lombax Support Group**


	2. Lombax Support Group

**Welcome back everyone!**

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_**Lombax Support Group**_

"You're staring"

"Sorry" Ratchet looked away as he followed Michael down several corridors that changed from light blue walls to a deeper purple. The number of windows lessened the further they went, making Ratchet feel uneasy. "I'm just still in shock I guess"

"Don't worry about it, I get it." Michael handed him the file that he had been hiding under his black bomber jacket, "This might help put you at ease though. It's the file on the team. Names, jobs within the team and so forth."

Ratchet flipped open the folder to find individual photos of five other Lombaxes and someone else not Lombax. The first one is the file was Michael's twin sister Annie. She looked sort of like him but with long hair that curled around her face and rested on her shoulders. She was smiling wide in her picture and something about it gave off a sense of warmth and comfort. Underneath her name was written 'Andromeda "Annie" Green. Technology and science specialist. Team Echo.'

"So your sister makes all the tech?"

"All our weapons, suits and other tech comes from her. The only thing she could never crack was mechanics" Michael smirked, "Guess it's a good job you're here. She'll pick your brain on it"

Ratchet smiled and nodded before flipping to the next page. Another female Lombax was staring back, this time smirking at the camera instead. "That's very Katheryn," Michael said, glancing over Ratchet's shoulder at the file page, "the girl is never not smirking about something"

"Katheryn Leroux-Zolomon" Ratchet read out loud,

"First tip: if you don't want Katheryn to fry your ass you never mention the Zolomon part of her name" Michael pushed the button on the elevator that they had now reached at the end of the corridor, "She would actually fry your tail off. She once burnt the furball at the end of mine off without hesitation because I ate the last brownie. Walked around smelling like burning hair for weeks"

"I already like her"

Michael shrugged, "She is a pretty cool person. Pretty badass powers too" The bell for the elevator rang before opening up. The pair stepped in before Michael pressed the button with 'Echo' scratched on it, "That was her actually"

As the elevator lurched down Ratchet repeated, "powers?" he frowned, "How does a Lombax have powers?"

"Because she's only half a Lombax. She looks like one but she's got powers and slightly different anatomy."

"I'm basically a much cooler version of a Lombax" A voice yelled through the doors. The pair watched the doors open to reveal the same smirking woman from the photo on the other side.

Katheryn stood with her hands buried into the pockets of a dark red leather jacket and an eyebrow raised. She looked Ratchet up and down with an expression that Ratchet couldn't understand before she said, "So you're our new Lombax? I'm Katheryn Leroux though you've probably already worked that out" she uncrossed her arms, smiled, and extended her hand,

"I'm Ratchet," Ratchet replied, taking her hand. He couldn't help but already like her.

"So I've heard. Follow me and I'll show you the central base and the one woman nerd squad" Katheryn let go of his hand and spun on her black boots before taking off down this new lighter corridor. Ratchet looked over to Michael who shrugged, silently saying 'yeah, she's always like that'.

The duo took off after her as she pointed at random doors. All the doors looked the same as before, with plates reading what each room is. Katheryn pointed them out one by one, not stopping to show the inside of each room, "Training area. Got a punchin' bag and mat for sparring. Few weights too. Oh! The break room. Decent coffee. Michael keeps ignoring my requests for a chef"

"There's a vending machine, Kath"

"Not the same! I want cake, not freakin' granola bars!"

"I'll bring it up with the Board"

"Thanks dear" Katheryn smiled over her shoulder before continuing her tour, "Shootin' range! You got still and movin' targets! Loads of Annie's weird ass inventions that are fun to use when you're super stressed"

"Says the girl who can shoot energy from her hands", Michael muttered.

"I'm sorry, what?" Ratchet stopped, "that's your power?"

Katheryn didn't even stop as she threw her hands into the air to show them. Ratchet watched as they slowly became covered in what looked like light blue lightning. The same exact color as her eyes. The energy jumped between her fingers and stretched across her palms as she turned her hands to show. It was like there was a lightning storm within her veins. Battling under the skin and trying to break free.

"I could fire them but I feel like maintenance would kill me if I burnt the ceiling…again"

Ratchet couldn't help but like her even more, "What else can you do?"

She turned and smirked, "All will be revealed soon" she continued to stride down the corridor with Ratchet and Michael following behind, "All you need to know for now is that I'm someone you want on your side, Ratchet"

Ratchet frowned. That sounded pretty ominous to him. The tiny part of uneasiness he still felt nagged at him, telling he was starting to trust them too soon. He watched her in curiosity as she ran a hand through her sandy colored long hair. The same hand that had just been lit up like it was on fire. She was powerful. That he could easily see. So if she was someone who wanted to take him in or fight him, she would have already done so.

Ratchet tried to ignore the feeling as he followed behind Katheryn silently as she babbled on about the other rooms, but he was no longer listening. Not that it mattered anyway, they all had their names written on them. He tried to feel confident about the situation but after seeing Katheryn's powers he didn't know if he would make it out if a fight broke out. He could probably take down Michael, but Katheryn was something he had never seen before.

"Ratchet?" he jumped when he realized there was someone clicking their fingers inches from his face, "You disappeared for a sec"

"Sorry, I was just thinking about all this. It's kinda crazy. Bit of a jump from what I'm used to"

Michael smiled, "Don't worry, you'll adjust. Part of the job is to help people find their way back. You're not the only one who has ended up here by accident. You quickly learn to just take it in your stride. Just look at us"

Katheryn had another expression on her face that confused Ratchet. This girl needed to work on her poker face. She looked like she was hiding something, something she didn't want to tell them. He couldn't help but be a little suspicious of her. She had acted a little odd since he had appeared. Though it seemed Michael hadn't picked up on it so maybe this just was how she was? If it was then Ratchet wasn't sure what to think of her anymore.

"so all the Lombaxes work here?" Ratchet asked instead,

Michael sighed, "Well, usually there's us two, Annie and our friend Erik but that's turned… complicated"

"How?"

"We'll explain in a minute once you meet this ball of sunshine," Katheryn said as they walked through an arch in the wall that led to a much bigger room, a room unlike any of the other's Ratchet had been in today.

The wall turned from the deep purple of the corridor to grey stone which was covered in various screens that showed different satellite feeds and various types of readings. One TV had a news channel with a robot currently talking through the weather though the screen was on mute.

In the middle of the room was a massive curved desk facing two smaller desks. It didn't take a genius to work out that it was their mission control. Two large computer screens leaned against the rail outlining the desk. Both were currently showing the name 'A.T.P.O' in large letters against a deep blue wallpaper screen.

There were various papers lying around the desks with names like 'Sam' and the 'The Lost Hero' written across them in large red letters. Folders were also laying everywhere from what Ratchet could guess were previous missions. The mess was oddly comforting. The place kind of reminded Ratchet of his workshop back on Kerwan. The one Clank had quickly given up cleaning and ended up just adding to the mess with various science equations and sudoku puzzles.

"Hello!" A voice called out from a door to the left of the trio. Annie was stood grinning from ear to ear, making her nose scrunch up and her science googles sit weird on her face. "I'm Annie! Well, my name is actually Andromeda, but everyone shortens it to Annie. I prefer it"

"Annie, what did I say about science unsupervised? Not until you can be trusted again!" Michael scolded,

"It was one tiny explosion! I have been extra careful since!" Everyone jumped when they heard a large 'pop' sound from the room behind Annie. Her grin turned sheepish, "science?"

"Hi" Ratchet waved as Michael walked off to assess whatever damage Annie had caused. Katheryn was simply stood trying not to laugh at the twins. Ratchet guessed that this was normal for them. Michael had called Annie the brains after all.

"It's so nice to meet you! And welcome to Terra!" Annie took the goggles off her face and tucked them into the pocket of her grey lab coat before taking it off and draping it over one of the purple swivel chairs that were tucked around the room. "Truth be told I didn't know there was another Lombax! This is so exciting. You must have so many questions!"

"Well, yeah"

"I'll answer them! But first, you'll be pleased to hear I have your combustor in my lab!"

"You do?"

Annie nodded enthusiastically, "They gave it to me after they took it off you when they bought you in. I heard you were super out of it, are you okay now?"

All Ratchet could remember from the crash was the bright light, all of Aphelion's alarms wailing and then darkness. He couldn't even remember the landing. The next thing he remembered was waking up here. There was a dull ache in his head that grew stronger whenever he tried to remember more. Did he manage to send a distress signal? Did Aphelion tell him what the light was?

"Hell of a lot better than my ship, that's for sure" Ratchet answered, the image of Aphelion on his mind. What could cause that sort of damage? It's not like it's the first time he's crash-landed in her. Maybe Annie would know?

"Yeah, I saw the damage. It was terrible. But hey, they told me you're a mechanic! If you need any tech whipped up to help you fix her, let me know!"

Ratchet smiled, "I'll have to take you up on that"

Michael re-emerged from the door Annie had come from with a fire extinguisher in his hand. He tossed it in her direction with a huff before saying, "Okay, now we're all buddies can we tell Ratchet the missions we've got going on? Catch him up to speed?"

"Yeah, of course," Annie answered, her face turning serious. She turned to Ratchet, "Do you have experience?"

"…you could say that"

"Okay, so we currently have two priority missions and then we pick some up as we go along. Usually little things like a rogue alien or a Terra being exposed to alien tech. Our main missions are a missing person and A.T.P.O's current favorite, The Lost Hero" Annie explained.

"The what now?"

"The Lost Hero" Michael repeated, "He's a big deal and the higher-ups here think he could be the biggest threat to the planet as we know it. All we know is that he is a he and is currently on Terra. Not sure how long but the higher-ups are itching to bring him in"

"So why call him a hero if he's such a threat?"

"His reputation" Annie answered, "used to be some kind of big shot hero before going rogue. We've heard the stories and that's why we think he would be such a threat"

"The stories? What are they?"

"So apparently he and this robot Cla-"

"Why don't I tell Ratchet about it whilst showing him a view of the city? So he can get an idea with what area we're dealing with?" Katheryn interrupted.

The other Lombaxes frowned but Michael went, "Sure if you want"

Katheryn nodded before steering Ratchet out the room. He waved to the two staring before following Katheryn towards the other end of the corridor that he was yet to walk down. Katheryn remained silent as they walked, just occasionally glancing over her shoulder to check Ratchet was still following.

What Ratchet wasn't prepared for was to be suddenly grabbed by his shoulders and shoved through a door that clearly had the word 'toilet' written on it in giant white letters.

"What the hell are you doing?" he hissed as Katheryn locked the door behind them. He was about to ask more questions when she spun around and her hand to his mouth to stop him from speaking.

"It's the only place without any cameras, okay? And I need you to listen to me very carefully. There is something I have to tell you but you have to promise not to tell anyone else, okay? Don't even mention to anyone that we had this conversation, clear?" Katheryn said.

Ratchet nodded. Katheryn dropped her hand from his mouth, "What is this about?" Ratchet tried again, keeping his voice down.

"The Lost Hero mission. We weren't making any progress. Not until you dropped out of the sky, anyway"

"Me?" Ratchet frowned, "Why do I have a bad feeling about this"

"The Lost Hero is also known as the hero of Solana, the one who defeated Tachyon, the savior of time itself and the entire universe. Sound familiar?"

Katheryn raised her eyebrow and Ratchet sighed, "Told you I had a bad feeling. What's the story? Why do you know it's me?"

Katheryn sat on the toilet lid with a sigh as Ratchet leaned against the sink watching her as she began to explain, "We used to get all the news here. Solana, Polaris, you name it. We saw all about you and Clank all over the news. You were kinda the buzz around here until last month"

"What happened?"

"Everyone just suddenly stopped talking about you. I couldn't get onto the channels anymore and suddenly we were all talking about the Lost Hero. I didn't say anything to anyone about it but I did a little digging and suddenly there were files on the Lost Hero dating back to at least two years ago. This sudden tale of a good man gone bad grew. I didn't wanna question it until I knew more and then you showed up today"

"So why do you remember? How do you know who I am already?"

"It's not important-"

Ratchet scoffed, "Yes it is! You're telling me this and expecting me to just trust you? After knowing you for what… 5 minutes?"

"Because I've been watching you since you started! I know who you are, Ratchet. I know you're not what the Lost Hero is being made out to be. I want to help you survive here. You're clearly not here by accident"

Ratchet hesitated. She did have a point. If she hadn't said anything he would have slipped up and told the others something and then what? They would know the Lost Hero was him and who knows what their plan is for him. Judging by the way they were talking though it probably wasn't good. He didn't know the others enough to trust they wouldn't do something despite him being another Lombax.

Maybe he would have to trust Katheryn. What other choices did he have?

"Okay fine, I trust you. I won't say anything but you have to help me find a way to get home. Deal?"

Katheryn stood up and nodded, "Deal"

"And can we agree that we don't keep discussing this in the bathroom? People are gonna get suspicious if we keep randomly going in here"

Katheryn looked thoughtful for a moment before snapping her fingers, "The roof! There's a blind spot on the roof! I'll show you later on. If we stay here any longer Michael is gonna come looking for us"

"Lead the way" Ratchet answered, stepping out of the way of the door. Katheryn walked over to it and had her hand on the lock when she paused,

"My apartment"

"Excuse me?"

Katheryn spun around to face Ratchet who was frowning at her, "My apartment! You need somewhere to stay whilst here, we need somewhere to talk and investigate privately and I have a spare room and am in need of a roommate! It's perfect!"

"So, just to be clear, you're asking me to what move in with you? After meeting today for the first time?"

"Yeah, isn't it obvious?"

Ratchet shrugged, "Why the hell not, it's not like today's been crazy enough as it is"

Katheryn smirked and threw open the door, "Knew you were a smart guy. Come on, Michael is gonna wanna debrief you on our missing person case"

The pair walked in silence back down the corridor to the large room where Michael and Annie were sat at the large desk in mid-conversation. They stopped and turned their chairs towards the pair as they walked in, Annie beaming at the pair as Michael clapped his hands together, "Right, I assume Katheryn has caught you up to speed on the Lost Hero?"

"Yep, sounds interesting. If I'm gonna be stuck here I might as well help where I can" Ratchet leaned against the archway, "Anything else I'm gonna wanna know?"

He could see the Lombaxes shooting each other looks. It looked like they were silently fighting over who was going to speak next. All of them challenging another to do it. Ratchet rubbed the back of his neck as the feeling of uneasiness returned. Whatever it was they wanted to say he could tell it wasn't going to be something good.

"Katheryn mentioned a missing person case?" Ratchet prompted them, hoping to end the competition between them.

"Yeah, it's to do with DESTROY" Annie finally ended the silence.

"Michael mentioned them earlier to me"

"Yeah well they're led by this guy" Michael spun around and pressed on the touchscreen before a picture of a man came up, "Sam Ceres"

Ratchet frowned, "He doesn't look all that tough"

And he was right. He looked young, around the same age as Ratchet, but he was pretty lanky. He had a thin face that made his cheekbones stand out and his eyes looked hollow with dark circles underneath them standing out against his pale skin.

"Looks can be deceiving. Trust me when I say Sam isn't the kind of guy who you can just walk up to with a tool and whack him once to stop him. He is powerful. He has influence. He's dangerous."

"And I am assuming you've met him before?"

Katheryn sighed and nodded before lifting the hem of her shirt to show a scar running across her stomach towards her heart, "Three years ago Sam captured me and experimented on me. He wanted to create a soldier of his own with powers like mine. He was creating some sort of device that could give someone that power"

"Did he?"

"Yeah, and it came at a cost to us all" Michael answered quietly.

"We were the team assigned to the case. A.T.P.O wanted us to bring him up as he began climbing the ranks at DESTROY. They were worried he could become too dangerous. When he took Katheryn he sent us a clue where she was and Eve was the one to crack it" Annie continued.

"Who's Eve?"

"My sister. When A.T.P.O stormed the place I was a captured she found me and Sam offered her a deal. A trade-off. He would let me go if she agreed to stay with him and have the device installed to serve him" Katheryn looked away. She could still remember his voice as he asked Eve, the confidence he had. He knew he had them cornered.

She could remember Eve's face when she said goodbye. She could hear her voice telling her not to blame herself. To make sure she kept the world safe from DESTROY without her because she knew they would soon be keeping it safe from her. She could still feel where she had kissed her forehead goodbye. Making her swear to not come back for her.

Unfortunately for Katheryn by looking away from Ratchet her eyes immediately fell to Michael and she was taken back again. The moment they had to tell him that his wife wasn't coming home. He never even got to say goodbye to the Eve he knew. She could remember the tears in his eyes as tried so hard not to cry until Annie hugged him. That's when he broke.

Katheryn didn't even want to think about the moment she had to tell Erik. That was one memory she hoped to never have to go through again.

"I'm sorry" Ratchet's voice broke her out of her trance, "I am generally really sorry. That must've been horrible"

"Not as horrible as the fact she's now got her own brother kidnapped" Annie revealed, "that's currently our main mission. Find Erik Leroux and bring him home"

"Think you can help?" Michael asked.

Ratchet looked around at the Lombaxes staring at him. They looked so… tired. Like this was a fight that was beginning to get to them. He knew he could help. He would be a fresh pair of eyes on the mission after all. But then he could already risk exposing himself as their other priority mission.

He couldn't let that stop him. Ratchet knew he would never be able to just sit by knowing there were those he could help. Call him a cliché, but he really did like doing the right thing. Being a hero. And he wasn't even in it for the glory (though it was nice). He just generally wanted to help.

So with that in mind, he answered, "I can help you. I'm in."

* * *

**It's been interesting being back and rewriting old characters again. I have to thank all those who left their love for the previous chapter and the story so far! **

**NEXT CHAPTER: Look to the West**


	3. Look to the West

_**Look to the West**_

Christine West knew a lot of things. She knew the perfect way to make coffee in the morning. She knew how to plan the perfect birthday parties. She knew how to get away with murder (it's not weird, she works for the CSI unit of the local police department) and how to find evidence out of nothing.

But what she did not know was how to help her friends with their latest mission. Mainly because this time it was personal.

She had tried. She repeatedly offered to help them in various ways. To check and recheck the crime scene. Sort through any police reports that could give them any sort of clue. Let them shake down some bad guys if they had to. But none of it seemed to work. They had all hit a dead end.

Christine tried to not let it get to her. It's not what Erik would've wanted for her. He would tell her to put her trust in the Lombaxes and to try and keep going. They would see each other again, she just had to keep believing that.

So she kept going with her work and tried to bury the feeling of constant worry.

Better said than done.

Business was slower than usual. Christine couldn't help but think that perhaps the criminals of Zropolis had decided to take a vacation so that it was harder for her to distract herself. Who knows? Maybe Sam and Eve had paid them all off. Or threatened them.

So that's how she found herself rearranging the shelves in her lab as she waited for the next case to come in. The other CSI's had their own work to do and they had politely declined when she offered to help.

They all knew Erik wasn't around they just didn't know the whole story. And they never could.

Christine was one of very few Terras who knew that aliens existed. Unfortunately for her, no one else here did so she had to stay silent about Erik. All she had told them was that there was an incident and Erik was gone to solve it. She never said he was missing or that he had been taken. It didn't stop them from treating her like she could shatter at any moment, however. The rumor flying around was that they had broken up and she was to blame. What can you do?

Her head snapped up when she heard her phone buzz on her desk. She prayed it was either a case for her here or one of the Lombaxes with an update. Annie had sent a vague text earlier about someone new appearing but no other information since.

She started to walk over to it when a voice made her jump out her skin, "MAIL FOR WEST!"

"Jeez Wellston, do you have to scream it every time?" Christine scolded as she put a hand over her racing heart.

Wellston grinned, "It's funny to make you jump"

"Say that again when I have chemicals in my hands and me throw them at you in shock" she snatched the envelope he had been clutching in his hand before waving, "bye-bye"

"You're no fun" Wellston scoffed before walking away. Christine waited a moment to make sure he wasn't coming back before turning back towards her desk and grabbing her phone to check the notification. The envelope was probably just a bill anyway.

The text wasn't much either. Just one line from Annie.

**New guy is joining the team. Come soon to meet him :)**

Christine sighed in disappointment. She wasn't exactly expecting Echo just to text her if anything happened with Erik, they would either come to her or call her, but she wanted something a little more exciting than a smiley face.

She turned her attention back to the envelope. All it had written on it was her name and the police station's address. There was no return address or any stamps.

She shrugged it off, it usually just means its internal mail. She turned it over and ripped it open without thinking too much about it.

However, as soon as she looked at the contents she immediately grabbed her leather jacket from her chair and bolted off to find the Lombaxes.

* * *

"I can help you. I'm in"

"Wise choice" Katheryn smirked before grabbing a navy colored folder from the desk and handing it over to Ratchet. "This is all we've got so far. Erik was taken two weeks ago on his way home from here. He was alone and we only realized he was missing when his girlfriend called to say he never turned up to a date and he wasn't answering his phone"

Ratchet flipped through the folder. Truth be told, he had never really worked like this before. Usually, it was more 'whack someone with a wrench and take their infobot' instead of official folders and crime scene pictures with all the yellow tape.

But hey, a lot of things about his day had not been ordinary.

"Guys!" Everyone looked to the door as someone Ratchet had never seen before ran in. She was waving something frantically in her hand. She seemed out of breath and her pale pink cheeks were turning red as if she had run miles all the way here, "I have so- there's another Lombax"

She turned to Katheryn, "Am I seeing things or is he a Lombax?"

"You're not seeing things" Ratchet answered, "I'm Ratchet, the newbie around here as of about three hours ago"

"Oh, so you're the one Annie texted me about!"

Katheryn gestured to the new woman, "Ratchet, this is Christine West. She works as a CSI for the police but helps out around here too"

Christine rolled her eyes, "Well, that's a bit of a simplification-"

"Sorry, let me rephrase" Katheryn cleared her throat before saying, "This is Christine West. We all went to the A.T.P.O school together. Though she is not an alien she is one of few Terras who know we exist because of her parents. She helps send police cases our way when they're believed to be alien. She sometimes works our forensics for us. She also often keeps us updated on police investigations that could be useful to us. She is an Aries, a natural brunette, her coffee order is an iced mocha and she has no brothers or sisters. She is my brother's girlfriend-"

"Okay, I think he gets the picture" Christine laughed awkwardly, "Sorry that was probably too much info at once"

"You were the one who said I was being simple!" Katheryn huffed,

"Don't worry about it. It's nice to meet you. You were saying something before you noticed me?" Ratchet said, changing the subject.

"Yes! Yes, I have something" She slammed down what she had been waving about onto the desk. A smooth white envelope with the words 'Christine West, ZCPD' written on it in bold red letters. The others looked at her in confusion,

"What are we staring at?" Annie asked,

"This came for me today. No stamps or a return address"

"So internal mail?" Michael theorized,

"See, that's what I thought until I looked inside" Christine took back the envelope and pulled out the contents. She gingerly held up a picture between two fingers, careful not to put her fingerprints all over it.

The picture was of who Ratchet could only guess was Erik. He was grinning at the camera taking the same style picture that he had seen earlier of Annie and Katheryn. The photo was in black and white which made the dark red question mark over Erik's face stand out even more.

"Can I?" Ratchet asked, reaching out for it. Christine looked to his hands and nodded as soon as she saw that he was mechanic gloves. They might not be the ones you were supposed to use but they would stop any fingerprints none the less.

The rest of Echo looked over Ratchet's shoulders as they all studied the picture. The only significant thing about it was the red question mark. Ratchet squinted at it, it didn't look like it was any sort of pen or pencil. So what was it?

"Is that lipstick?" Katheryn asked, reaching a conclusion before him.

"When Erik went missing he was coming to meet me from work and we were going out. I left my lipstick at his apartment so he was bringing that back to me. My red lipstick. My red lipstick that's the exact same shade!"

Michael frowned, "So you think this is from Eve? Because of the lipstick?"

"Could it be anyone else? This all already feels like it's personal with what you've told me so far. I think it's a message" Ratchet handed the picture back over to Christine before grabbing the file again. He flicked through it wondering if would provide any more answers.

The file wasn't in his hands for very long though as a piercing noise came out of every TV screen on the wall, causing them all to jump in shock before covering their ears. Every single screen was flickering on off as the noise continued, "what the hell is going on?" Katheryn yelled over the noise,

"No idea!" Annie yelled back. She started to walk towards the tv's to figure it out when everything went silent. All the TV's turned to black as the team watched, slightly stunned.

"Everyone alright?" Ratchet asked as he rubbed his ringing ears. Everyone slowly nodded. Whatever that was he silently begged it would not happen again. The noise might not have lasted very long but damn had it made an impact.

"Hey guys?" the team looked to Annie to see her staring at the screens. Their eyes followed hers to find what she was staring at. Or rather, who she was staring at.

The Lombax on the screen grinned. Her deep red eyes bore into the team as she snarled, "Well hello team Echo! Long-time no see, wouldn't you say?"

"Where is Erik, Eve? What have you done with him?" Katheryn immediately asked, putting her hands on her hips to seem more confident when really her heart was pounding and her stomach was twisting. She hated seeing Eve like this. She couldn't help but blame herself for it.

Eve ignored Katheryn and instead looked to Ratchet, "How rude of me not to introduce myself. I'm Eve, you've probably heard of me…"

Ratchet took a step forward to stand next to Annie, "Yeah, you were mentioned. Thanks for trying to deafen us though. Was that to save us the trouble of listening to whatever speech you have planned?"

"Oh, that? That was just me wanting to make an entrance. I saw you got my message which meant it was time to say hello and what a better way to do it?"

"Well, you got our attention. Do you plan to keep the dramatic streak going? Because if I'm being perfectly honest I'm already bored. Being dramatic isn't very original, is it?" Ratchet quipped. The rest of Echo glanced at Ratchet. They couldn't help but be a little impressed at confident he seemed to be talking to Eve. Everyone else hated doing it.

He wasn't faking it either. It's not like he hasn't been here before several times. Sure, this was the first time in a long time without Clank but he was feeling okay about it. The sooner he done with Eve the sooner he could begin working on Aphelion's communications.

"Oh trust me, my boss and I are something you've never seen before" Eve chuckled, "Now, I'll make this quick for you. My boss Sam is very interested in how you work, Ratchet. He's been dying for a new challenge for ages and if I'm being honest so have I. So we want to challenge you and see how you do"

"Why Ratchet?" Annie asked. Katheryn and Ratchet looked at each other for they both already knew why. They just couldn't admit it which meant playing along with whatever Eve answered.

"New blood" Eve smirked before winking at Ratchet.

The team watching felt a little taken back when he surprisingly smirked, "What does your boss want me to do? This would be the perfect time to tell me your entire evil plan by the way. Would be really useful. Save us all some time"

"Why drone on when I can just show you?" Eve answered without hesitation.

Eve spun the camera around as she showed what had been opposite her. Ratchet heard Christine gasp in shock as the camera settled on a beaten-down Lombax tied to a chair facing the camera.

"Erik?" Erik's head snapped up at the sound of Katheryn's voice. Ratchet sucked in a breath as he looked at the state of the man. He had dried blood tangled with his fur under his nose and the corner of his mouth. His eyes were clearly bloodshot as he squinted at the camera, struggling to see far in front of him.

"Kath? Is that you?" He croaked. His face seemed too thin and Ratchet questioned if they had even been feeding him or giving him water. He looked far sicklier than in the photo currently sat on the desk. What kind of sister could do that to her own brother?

"Yeah, it's me! We're coming for you, okay? Just hold tight!"

Eve spun the camera back to herself, "It's simple, Ratchet. Find Erik. You have twenty-four hours. Good luck!"

"Aren't you going to give me some sort of clue or something?" Ratchet asked. Eve answered by waving with a wide grin on her face before ending the transmission. The team stared for a moment at the blank screen before Michael turned to Ratchet,

"Please tell me you can do this"

Ratchet didn't answer, instead chewing on his bottom lip and staring into the middle distance as he tried to think.

Judging by the wink she gave after saying he was new blood he had to assume she knew he was the Lost Hero. So that would mean that she might try to give him a new challenge to see just how good he was. Clank was always the brains of any logical challenge they faced so maybe Eve was playing with that?

So maybe she had given a clue in the transmission? One that wasn't spoken? Eve clearly knew what she was doing. There must've been something deliberately placed in the transmission for him to see.

"I think so. Do you happen to have a record of all transmissions going in and out?" Ratchet asked,

"DESTROY's transmissions are never traceable but everything is recorded and then stored onto external storage so they can't be hacked or tampered with. I'll go get the record for this one from the transmission room" Katheryn jumped up and ran out the room.

Christine finally looked away from the screen to the other Lombaxes, "What's your idea?"

"I think there must've been some sort of visual clue as to where she's keeping Erik. She wants to challenge me so just outright telling me the clue would be too easy. Leaving a hint somewhere else though? Not so much"

"You think she hid it somewhere in the video?"

Ratchet's eyes fell to the envelope that had been discarded onto the desk, "Not just the video. Sending that picture right before actually talking to us can't be random. We all thought it was some kind of message-"

Michael frowned, "Yeah, to find Erik which is what she wants you to do?"

"But maybe the picture is part of the clue? I mean come one, using Christine's lipstick instead of a marker pen? Sending it to Christine when I'm the one she wants to challenge? It can't be an accident"

"Look at you Mr. Detective" Annie nudged Ratchet's arm as Katheryn came flying back into the room. She ran straight back to the TV's and reached behind them to where a DVD player was mounted on the wall.

"You guys still use DVD's? How far behind is this place?" Ratchet couldn't help but think out loud. He had to remind himself that this was a Class One planet so of course, it was going to be behind. He just didn't realize how far ahead he was until now and couldn't help but think perhaps he would struggle a little with the change.

Katheryn tossed the TV remote over her shoulder at Ratchet who caught it one-handed as she inserted the disk. He tossed it between both hands absent-mindedly as they waited in silence for the video to load. In the back of his mind, Ratchet couldn't help but ask what he would do if he was wrong. This wasn't exactly his style. If he really did fail then what would happen to Erik? He hadn't met the guy in person yet but he didn't exactly want his blood on his hands.

He couldn't think like that. He had to be confident that this would work. If he started to doubt himself then he was more likely to make mistakes.

Ratchet's thoughts were interrupted when Eve Leroux once again grinned from the screens. "Shout if you think you see something," he said to the group before hitting mute on the remote. They knew she didn't say anything that could be a clue so they needed to focus on the background.

"What are we looking for?" Annie whispered to her brother,

"Anything written on the walls or shown in the background" Christine answered instead after overhearing her. "Could be numbers, co-ordinates, patterns-"

"There!" Ratchet exclaimed, quickly hitting pause on the remote and pointing to the screen. "Reflections!"

The team gathered closer to the monitor to see where Ratchet was pointing. It was paused at the moment Eve flipped the camera from herself to Erik. Neither Lombax was on-screen yet so all they could see was a small part of the area the pair were talking from.

There was a load of shipping crates stacked on top of one another, each with their own thin layer of dust growing on them. Whatever company they were had been scratched out – clearly, Eve didn't want to make it too easy.

No, what Ratchet was pointed at was hidden behind them, "Can we zoom in on that?"

Annie swiped the remote off him and pressed a few buttons. The camera focused onto the point they were all staring at.

A small, broken mirror. It wasn't a lot but it was something. It showed them pieces of the opposite side of the room.

Including a small window.

"How did you even spot that?!" Christine asked in shock. It had been pretty hidden and if Ratchet hadn't pointed it out she would have probably missed it.

"Well, I was actually looking at the shipping crates to see if there was any sort of number on them? You know, like a serial code or something we could trace? Then I just… got lucky" Ratchet answered sheepishly.

"So what's the window showing us?" Michael asked, folding his arms as he squinted at the screen.

Katheryn took several steps forward until her face was practically against the screen. Maybe she hoped she could just step through and be there instantly. This was the closest she had gotten recently to getting her brother back. She knew she needed to focus as much as possible but the image of Erik strapped to a chair all bloody and bruised kept flashing through her mind. She closed her eyes and tried to push the image from her mind. The pure rage she felt was trying to distract her.

She took a deep breath and tried to focus herself on the knowledge that she would burn the ever-loving hell out of Sam when she came across him again. As for Eve? She knew there a jail cell downstairs with her name written all over it until they could remove her device.

"Katheryn? You see anything?" Christine prompted.

Katheryn opened her eyes and studied the picture. The sky was looking a slightly pink color like dusk or dawn. Given that it was early afternoon for them that would mean Eve was broadcasting from another time zone. That would make sense, they would probably stick to an unfamiliar land to Echo so that it would be harder to find them.

Katheryn could also see a lot of green tops in different shapes. Trees? That was the only thing that it really could be. There were dots of white in the green which she guessed could be snow, supporting her idea of a different time zone as it hadn't snowed at all for them that day. It very rarely snowed in Zropolis in mid-September.

Katheryn turned back to the group, "The sky is a pinky color like dusk or dawn. There's a load of green so trees but there's some white on it like-"

"Snow?" Ratchet interrupted.

Katheryn nodded, "I don't think they're in this city at all. Judging by the crates they're probably in some warehouse, right?"

"Some warehouse near a forest where it's either morning or evening? Not in this city? That doesn't exactly narrow it down" Michael couldn't help but be honest. With limited information, it would still take them weeks to search all matching locations. They only had a day until they lose their chance. Michael wanted to support his team, of course. But sometimes that had to mean being realistic with them.

"There's something bugging me. Ratchet, you thought the message to Christine could be part of the clue, right? So what is it?" Annie sat down at the desk and stared at the photo of Erik. She silently decided to ignore her brother's pessimistic tone and focus on supporting Ratchet.

"That's the one part I'm still working on. Can you think of anything, Christine?"

"…I actually think I can" Christine reached into her back jeans pocket and pulled out her phone. She gave it a few quick taps before holding her phone out so the others could see the screen, "That's my grandpa outside his old business. Notice anything?"

"'Local family company closes after West freak accident'" Ratchet read out loud before looking at the picture attached. It was a well-dressed older Terra man with a silver cane smiling proudly at the camera. It was the same smile Christine had.

What was interesting however was what he was stood outside of. A large warehouse building painted a deep brown. It looked more like an oversized barn than anything else. It had a few small windows running along near the roof.

There were hundreds of trees behind the building and next to it. Far as the eye could see. Just like they could see in the reflection of the mirror in Eve's transmission, "Where is this place?"

"Over in Su-Town"

Annie's eyes widened, "That's another time zone. Five hours ahead so it should be late evening over there by now! The sun will be setting! And that place is known for its early fall snow!"

Christine looked between the picture on her phone and the picture on the screen, "You don't think…?"

"The reflection and the message to you? They're connected! I think this is how!" everyone looked between each other as the realization kicked in. They had never been so close to finding Erik as they were right now. Ratchet could tell by their faces how much this meant to them.

Michael stood up and put his hands on his hips, "Well we shouldn't waste any time. We'll take the ship and investigate. It'll be night over there by the time we get there. Katheryn, take Ratchet and quickly run him through the basics on a mission. Do it on the ship so he can get an idea of it. Annie, grab the night gear and all stun weapons. We don't know what we could be walking into but we don't want to accidentally shoot Erik either. Christine-"

"Don't even think about telling me to stay here"

Michael paused before quietly saying, "Can I talk to you alone?"

Christine nodded before turning back to the team, "Well, you all heard Commander Green. It's time we get Erik back"

Katheryn, Ratchet, and Annie watched the pair in silence as they took off down the corridor. Ratchet was yet to fully understand everyone's relationship to one another but he could already tell they were pretty close so whatever Michael had to say to Christine was probably something he knew the others wouldn't want to hear. And he wasn't exactly as close to them as they were to each other so it wasn't any of his business. Yet he couldn't help but wonder what Michael was going to say to Christine to make her change her mind. Ratchet didn't know her well but it was clear she was determined to get Erik back.

Katheryn put a hand onto his shoulder, "Looks like you're with me fuzzball"

She let him go and took off down the corridor in the opposite direction to where Michael and Christine had gone. The same direction Katheryn had taken him when she shoved him into the toilet and revealed the Lost Hero.

"Well, that was easy!" Annie thought aloud as she ran towards her lab to grab her tools.

Ratchet frowned and followed behind Katheryn as he muttered to himself, "Yeah… a little _too_ easy"

* * *

**Sorry for the slight delay in uploading!**

***grabs the nearest megaphone* Ya girls Christine and Eve have returned! Sam has been name-dropped! We're back fuzzballs!**

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**NEXT: The Good, the Bad and the Furry**


	4. The Good, the Bad and the Furry

_**The Good, the Bad and the Furry**_

FIVE MINUTES BEFORE THE TRANSMISSION

Erik swore to himself that when he got out of here he would enjoy natural sunlight a hell of a lot more. More trips to the beach. Walking to work instead of driving. Maybe he could take Christine somewhere sunny on holiday. He swore if he got out of here he would even find a way to get to Pokitaru.

Erik shook his head. He couldn't think of getting out of here as an 'if'. He needed to think of it as a 'when'.

He twisted his body around on the thin mattress to find a more comfortable position with his sore stomach. The plate of food on the floor by the door was taunting him. Begging to be eaten. Erik could almost hear it whispering to him.

"Eat us Erik" the mashed potato begged,

"You know you want to" the carrots joined in,

"Just one bite?" the pathetically thin piece of meat added.

Erik rolled over to his back and looked to the plain grey stone ceiling. The fact that food was talking to him meant he was getting delirious from dehydration. He had been refusing to eat or drink for some time. Lombaxes could make it for at least a month without one or the other but a much shorter time without both. It was that information that prompted his hunger and hydration strike which he decided to call the HH Double-Whammy.

His theory was that his HH Double-Whammy would force someone else other than the guard in, most likely a doctor. When the doctor saw how bad Erik was they would have no choice but take them to some sort of medical room where he would have to stay for some time whilst they sorted him. Erik hoped this would give him enough strength to fight the doctor, steal their lab coat and badge and attempt to find a comm area where he could send a signal to Echo to locate him.

It was a plan full of holes but it was the best he could think of. He was a doctor, not an agent. This was not his strong suit.

It felt like the mattress was swaying as the ceiling appeared to spin above him. He put his arm over his eyes to block out the dim light in a hope he could maybe sleep a little and forget about it all for a little bit of time. Erik's tail kept twitching in an attempt to balance him despite the fact he was not moving. His breathing was small and shallow to try and soothe the hunger pains that were shooting through his stomach. Not that breathing was any less painful because of his banged-up nose. The guard here wasn't exactly a Lombax fan. When he first began to refuse to eat the guard had come in and tried to 'gently' encourage him to eat until Eve ordered the guard to stop at once.

That's when he heard the words that gave him a slight bit of hope. Eve turning to the guard and saying 'we need him alive'.

His ears perked up at the sound of the door lock scraping across the metal door that kept him contained to this room. Maybe part one of his plan was about to begin?

The door swung open to reveal Eve stood with two of the large robot guards on either side of her.

"Oh hello sister dear, how are you this fine day?" Though Erik's body was broken his humor was yet to be crushed,

"Let's go," She said to the guards, ignoring Erik. The guards nodded once before stepping into the small cell and dragging Erik up by his arms. He didn't have the strength to protest. He was imagining what bruises they were going to leave on his arms by how tight they were clutching him.

"Don't suppose you gents want to tell me where I'm going?"

There was silence from the pair as they dragged him out the cell and down the old, musty corridor,

"Guess not" Erik sighed. He watched Eve march on in front of them, her back to all three of them, "Eve? Anything you wanna tell me?"

She stopped walking which made both guards stop abruptly and Erik almost lose his balance from the sudden loss of movement. She didn't turn to face him properly. She simply looked over one shoulder and said, "It's time for you to play your part"

"I'm sorry, what does-" Erik was cut off when the guard to his left punch him in the stomach, causing agonizing pain to rush through his body. He tried to fall to his knees but the guards kept their tight grip on his arms. He struggled to breathe as the pain remained flowing throughout his body.

"I'm sorry, Erik" Eve was a fading voice in the distance now, "But we need you in pain"

* * *

PRESENT

"Michael, I know what you're gonna say," Christine said as soon as they were out of earshot of the other Lombaxes. She had known Michael long enough to know that if he wants to talk to you alone then it was going to be the same speech about protecting his friends and so on.

"Chris, I can't let you go because I need you to stay here and monitor the situation. It's for your safe-"

"Need someone to monitor? So keep Ratchet here! Or Annie! He's new and she doesn't like a fight! I went through the same training you did. I went to the academy too. I can handle myself out there and Erik is gonna need me. If he's hurt I'm the only one here with enough medical knowledge to keep him going until we can get him to the med bay!"

Michael sighed and rubbed his eyes, "Eve wants Ratchet there, we have to do what she says for Erik's sake. Annie is our pilot as well as our technical support so she needs to go. We don't know is Ratchet can fight so he'll need Katheryn there with him for protection. I'm sorry Christine but I can't let you go"

"Michael, this is the closest we've gotten in weeks. I need to be there… I need to see him for myself and make sure he's alive…"

Michael put a hand onto Christine's shoulder to comfort her. She avoided looking at him for fear that if she did she would start crying. She wanted to prove to Michael that she could handle the mission. She might not be a fully trained A.T.P.O agent but she could handle herself a lot better out there than a lot of other Terras.

"I know you do and I promise on my life that we will bring Erik home but I can't risk losing you too. This could be a trap for all we know. You'll be safe here. We'll keep an open channel on the comms so you know what's happening" Michael pulled Christine into a hug that she accepted by wrapping her arms around his torso. Over her shoulder, Michael watched Katheryn and Ratchet glance at them before nodding and heading towards the elevators to the hanger.

"You're not my commander. I'm coming no matter what" Christine mumbled into his chest. She pushed him away and wiped away the tears of anger that had fallen onto her face before taking off towards the elevators.

Michael could've stopped her easily enough but he decided against it. If Christine was this determined to go then it was better to accept it and think of ways to keep her safe than for her to do something reckless and get herself hurt. Or worse.

"You okay, boss?" Michael turned to Annie stood at the hub door throwing a backpack on, "You look frustrated"

"I told Christine to stay here and she basically gave me a verbal middle finger and has stormed off to the hanger so I guess she's coming anyway"

"Can you blame her? This is the closest we've gotten. You're lucky she didn't shoot you with a tranquil gun!" She walked to her brother and patted his arm, "We'll keep her safe, don't worry. Both her and Erik are gonna be okay"

"I hope so"

* * *

Ratchet and Katheryn walked in silence for a moment after seeing Michael and Christine before Ratchet spoke, "Can I ask something?"

"Sure thing"

"How come you know Christine? You said she was a Terra but that she also went to school with you? How did that work?"

Katheryn knew Ratchet would ask that and already had her answered prepared, "Christine's father worked for this place as a police detective who, like Christine, gave us police related information. She doesn't really know how he was recruited but he and his mother told Christine everything as she grew up. Then they died when she was ten. Freak accident. A.T.P.O think it could've been alien. Because Christine knew about aliens they decided to take her in so she ended up at the academy at the same time as the twins and Erik and Eve"

"What about you?"

"Oh yeah until you showed up I was the youngest with like six years between the twins and I. Erik's the oldest out of all of us then it's Eve and Christine. They're all close in age so they were around the same grades in school and shared classes. That's how we got to know Christine"

Ratchet nodded but didn't respond verbally. If he was being honest, he was only asking to distract himself from the task ahead. Since Annie had mentioned that it had been pretty easy he had started to question everything. Had he somehow messed up? Made something out of nothing? Eve wouldn't make it easy for him if she knew him at all.

Maybe she didn't know who he was. For all he knew, the Lost Hero and Eve could be completely unconnected and she wasn't lying when she said he had been picked because he was 'new blood'. Was he accidentally starting to expose himself as the Lost Hero because of it?

He glanced over to Katheryn who was cracking her knuckles as they waited for the elevator to arrive. Surely if she had had the same thought he would be stood in a cramped toilet cubicle right now as she warned him? She seemed kind of antsy but that could easily be explained by the fact she was following a clue left by her psycho sister to find her missing brother.

The elevator arrived with a small ding and the pair remained silent as they walked in and stood side by side as Katheryn hit the button labeled 'hanger'. It was a different elevator to the one Ratchet and Michael had been in earlier – this time there were windows surrounding three of the sides that showed a view of the skyline of Zropolis. The A.T.P.O base seemed to be on its own in an area away from the town as the top of a hill. A quick glance down showed Ratchet the high-speed trains leading from the city to a tunnel below and back.

"Pretty cool view, right?" Katheryn broke the silence,

"Kinda reminds me of Metropolis. Do none of the Terra's question this place?"

"No, because there's a field around the place that stops them from seeing it. Anyone who does end up by accident who shouldn't know gets their memory erased and plopped right back in the city"

The view was plunged into darkness as they reached the lower levels underground. Ratchet looked over to Katheryn and asked, "You guys have the tech to do a memory wipe?"

"Oh yeah, we've got all sorts of gadgets around here. This base is one of the main ones. A lot of those who aren't on field teams like the board or the medical staff or lab staff work here which means we usually get all the cooler tools"

"Don't suppose any of those can be used in this situation?"

Katheryn elbowed his arm lightly, "It's gonna be fine. You can handle this"

The elevator stopped and pinged again before the doors opened up to reveal the hanger. Ships of all shapes and sizes were spread out across the huge open space. Some were old and falling apart, others were sleek and shiny and looked as if they had never left this place. Starships, cargo ships and all the ships you could think of were here.

"This is amazing!" Ratchet muttered to himself, "Some of these were discontinued eons ago!"

Katheryn giggled, "Thought you'd like it. Every mechanic's dream, right?"

"Are you kidding me? I have only seen some of these ships in books and TV! Like look there, that's a Hyfro-3000! It runs entirely on water vapor. They stopped production on it because it, you know, didn't work but the engine is one of a kind! A-and there's a Loft-299, they only made 299 of them! It runs on a unique core that they kept a super-secret!" Ratchet blabbered on like a kid on Christmas,

"Are you a secret ship nerd?" Katheryn was surprised to see Christine stood next to them. She had expected Michael to send her home whilst they dealt with Eve. Though she was also kind of relieved to see her. It was someone else who understood just how important this mission was to her.

"What can I say? You've discovered my secret" Ratchet winked, "So which one are we taking?"

"This one over here" Katheryn pointed to one of the newer ships around, "we call her the Jet. It was a sleek white ship with black detailing around the wings. It was a pretty basic ship in Ratchet's eyes but that could because had been on the Phoenix,

Annie and Michael weren't too far behind Christine. "All aboard" Annie called out as she and Michael approached the trio stood outside the ship door (Ratchet was thankfully they didn't have to jump in, his legs were still a little sore from the crash).

The team walked into the ship in pairs with Michael following along at the back. The inside of the Jet didn't match the outside. Instead, it was all black with navy blue seats facing several grey desks with various monitors at each. "So you have command, comms, weapons, satellite analysis, intelligence analysis and two spare seats in case one area needs more working on it. Then through there is the pilot and co-pilot" Katheryn explained to Ratchet as she pointed to various stations around the interior.

"Who pilots?" he asked,

"Me," Annie said as she walked through to the pilot seat and grabbed one of the headsets that were dangling from a hook above the windshield, "You're more than welcome to help out once you do your pilots test"

"Pilots test?"

"Yeah, sorry buddy but A.T.P.O requires you to do one on Terra before you fly one of their ships" Michael added as he sat in front of the command station and grabbed his own headset.

Ratchet looked to Katheryn for help explaining he was more than capable of flying the ship with Annie but she simply shrugged before sitting in front of the weapons station. Christine sat down at one of the spare stations. Ratchet stood there for a moment before sitting down at the other spare station.

"Okay, the ship is ready to go. Hanger bay doors are opening in 5…4…3…2…1" Ratchet leaned forward and watched as the doors opened and flooded the hanger and ship with natural sunlight. He was only vaguely aware of Annie continuing take-off prep as he stared outside. The ship taking off would mark the first time he had left this building since he had crashed in the early morning. Since then it had felt pretty non-stop to the point it felt like it had been days since he crashed, not hours.

He was ready to get this over with so he could focus on his other issues, like fixing Aphelion and figuring out how to avoid being caught as the Lost Hero.

"Engines are fully functioning. Co-ordinates locked and loaded. ETA is 25 minutes at top speed. Give me the order, Commander"

Michael nodded, "You're clear to proceed"

"Copy that. Here we go!"

* * *

"Room for one more?" Annie looked over her shoulder to see Ratchet smiling at her as he leaned against the door that connected the cockpit to the rest of the Jet,

"Take a seat. Auto-pilot is currently doing most of the work anyway" she winked as his smile turned to a smirk as he walked over and plonked himself onto the chair next to her. It was meant for the co-pilot but as none of the others could pilot it was usually taken up by either Michael, Erik or Katheryn keeping her company during the rare longer fights.

"I have to admit, at first I wasn't sure but now I have to say this is a pretty impressive ship you got"

"I'm glad you think that because if I'm being honest it is being held together by duct tape and gum"

"Are you kidding me? To a mechanic, those are two of the most important tools!"

The pair laughed before falling into a comfortable silence. There wasn't anything to look at outside, they were flying over numerous bright green fields. Something that was common in a lot of galaxies. Same with the bright blue sky. And the clouds. Nothing to be that excited about.

Ratchet watched at Annie drummed her fingers on the steering console. She was humming a little tune that he didn't recognize. He couldn't tell what she was thinking about as she stared ahead of her.

So he didn't fully understand why he blurted out with, "I have this feeling that I can't shake…"

Annie turned to him, "Wanna talk about it?"

Perhaps talking to Annie wouldn't be such a bad idea. She seemed like the kind of person who would help him think about it logically and help him see the truth. She seemed the most optimistic out of the team so maybe she would help him feel better about it all? Tell him he was overthinking?

"Does this all seem a little too easy to you? Like we solved it too quick?"

Annie looked to the door to see if the others were listening. Michael was talking quietly into his headset and Katheryn seemed occupied with whatever was on the screen in front of Christine that Annie couldn't quite see. Once she realized neither were paying attention she turned back to the Lombax staring at her and nodded once, "I've been thinking that too. At first, I thought that maybe Eve underestimated you or something but then I couldn't help but remember the fact she has probably planned this for some time. She would know we would help you so surely she would make it even more challenging? And then there's the time"

"The time?"

"Well, when Eve challenged you she said you had twenty-four hours, right? And yet it took less than five minutes to solve it. Something isn't sitting right with me"

Ratchet lowered his voice, "Be honest with me, do you have the same feeling I do that we might've missed something"

"I thought I was just being paranoid but if you feel it too then maybe I'm not"

"Or we both are?"

Annie shook her head, "I don't think so"

"Do we say something to them?" He gestured to the rest of the team behind them, "warn them?"

Annie shook her head, "They're all on edge enough as it is. I say we wait until we can properly assess the situation. Let's be 100% positive we're not being paranoid before we panic them"

Ratchet nodded, Annie knew them better than him so he trusted her opinion. It made him better to know that someone else felt the same way he did. Especially Annie.

The landscape outside quickly changed from green fields to a white and green thick forest. The pair leaned forward to get a better look when something began beeping behind them, "According to this we're three out but the forest is just gonna get thicker and thicker" Katheryn told them,

"Yeah, a stealth landing will be near on impossible in that. You know, if they don't already know we're here" Annie called back, "Anywhere I can bring us down close by?"

"Apparently there's a creek about a ten-minute walk from the warehouse. No trees at all. Sending coordinates to you now" The flight console pinged with the new coordinates as Annie pressed a few buttons to take off auto-pilot and took over full control,

"Surely Eve will know we're gonna land there?" Ratchet questioned Annie,

"Yeah, so we need to be ready. Open up that black backpack at your feet" Ratchet leaned down and grabbed the backpack in question. He put it onto his knees before unzipping the main pocket. He didn't know what to find nor what Annie had packed for them.

Ratchet felt a rush of relief when the first thing his eyes landed on was his combustor. Up until now, he had completely forgotten about it. His mind had been so preoccupied with everything else that it had slipped to the back of his mind until now. He took it out and turned it over to the ammo gauge.

He only had half left. He would have to use them wisely as he had a sneaky suspicion he wouldn't find a Gadgetron around here.

"I assume you know how to use that thing?"

Ratchet smirked at Annie, "Pretty confident"

"Good, because we're landing now. Get ready to go"

Ratchet got up and joined the others in the back of the Jet as they began to prepare to leave. Christine slipped a bullet-proof vest over her body as Michael opened a hidden black box in the wall where several guns were stored. He grabbed a simple silver pistol before grabbing a smaller black gun. Christine put her hand out expectantly. Michael was about to put it in her hand when he pulled it away, "You only use this in an emergency and you stay close to me. Understand?"

"Got it" Christine answered. Michael handed over the gun which she tucked into the waistband of her jeans.

"Ratchet put this on" he only just managed to catch whatever Michael was suddenly throwing at him. It was pretty solid and it took Ratchet a second before he realized it was another bulletproof vest,

"Oh I'm good, thanks"

Michael frowned, "Are you bulletproof or something?"

"Well, no but-"

"Then put it on. You haven't been combat assessed or anything. You're only here because Eve basically demanded it. This is already a huge risk so please put it on. Might hide the orange too…"

Ratchet looked down at his pilot suit. For starters, it was a very subtle orange shirt he was wearing. Secondly, he had been through a lot worse wearing stuff not exactly suitable for the occasion.

He opened his mouth to protest some more when he saw Katheryn behind Michael drawing a finger over her throat whilst looking him in the eye. Right, he couldn't protest because every argument would involve risking exposure as the Lost Hero.

So instead he begrudgingly pulled it over himself and fastened the straps around his torso. Michael had done the same but Katheryn remained without one, "Why aren't you wearing one?"

"Oh, unlike you I am actually bulletproof," she said casually before smirking, "one part of my powers"

"So you can create and shoot energy from your hands and you're bulletproof? That's… well, that is pretty cool"

"Never let her challenge you to an arm wrestle either. She's got super strength" Annie told him as she walked past to the door wearing her own vest. She was clutching onto the straps of her backpack as she turned to the others and waited for them to join her.

"She…okay" Ratchet muttered before joining Annie.

Michael turned to Katheryn, "Wanna run through what we're doing?"

Katheryn nodded before clearing her throat and explaining, "It's gonna be pretty simple. There are two entrances so two teams. Michael, Annie, and Christine will enter via the backdoor and search the offices for Erik. Prepare for hostile forces and use force if needed. Ratchet and I are going to go in via the main door and search the main warehouse. Remember, this is a simple grab and go. However, there is a chance we'll run into Eve. If you do, radio me immediately and hide. I'll come and get you out of there. If you find Erik assess what state he is in and tell everyone over comms"

"If he can walk or better yet run then you get him the hell out of there and radio whilst on the move and we'll all meet back here. If he can't walk then radio and someone will have to carry him out. Katheryn will provide cover if that has to happen" Michael added,

Katheryn nodded, "Yes, what Michael said. Now I know this is the closest we've gotten to him since he went missing but we do need to prepare for the chance he's not here or worse… his body is here. I don't want to think that because we know that Erik is a fighter. He would want us to be optimistic because he's the biggest optimist there is. So today we're gonna keep that in mind and fight for him. Today the good faces the bad for Erik"

"For Erik" Christine nodded,

"For Erik," both Michael and Annie said at the same time.

The rest of Echo turned to Ratchet stood at the back of them, "For Erik" he said before smirking, "now let's go kick some ass"

* * *

**PREPARE FOR AN ASS-WHOPPING NEXT CHAPTER Y'ALL**

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**NEXT: Running Home to You**


	5. Running Home to You

_**Running Home to You**_

Team Echo walked in a single file line through the dense forest. Katheryn led the way with Michael bringing up the rear. They stayed silent, not for the sake of stealth but because they simply did not wish to talk about the task ahead of them. It felt wrong to make small talk right now. Though it was night time here the snow was so bright in contrast to the sky that it helped light up the way for the group.

The good news was that they were not greeted off the ship by any hostile forces. As soon as Annie had pressed the button to open the ship door they had been on edge about receiving a 'warm' welcome.

But the forest had been silent. The only sound was the wind blowing through the trees and their feet trudging through the snow. There were no birds or any signs of wildlife. In fact, there no signs of any life anywhere except for them.

The howling wind cut into their bones. It had been such a rush to leave that no one checked the weather before they went on their way. Katheryn pulled her jacket closer to her body as she shivered and silently thanked whoever needed thanking for making her look like her Lombax mother – thus giving her fur. As they walked forward, she watched Ratchet wrap his arms around himself. The poor guy was wearing short sleeves and it didn't exactly look like the gloves were keeping his arms warm. He had been silent since they had left the ship and she couldn't help but wonder what he was thinking.

Ratchet had spent the walk silently questioning whether this was even the right place or if he how somehow made something out of nothing. Maybe there had been some other clue in the video? The real clue instead of the one he found? Was he leading them to a dead-end?

He didn't know Erik, but he could tell how much the team cared about him. How would they cope if they didn't find him?

He had been where they've been before. All that time spent looking for Clank after the Zoni took him. The dead ends were the worst part of it all because it felt like you had failed. The endless wondering where you went wrong. What did you miss? He knew it was the memory of going through that himself that was making him question himself a lot more than usual.

But he had found Clank and he knew deep down they would find Erik.

"Up ahead" Katheryn pointed to a clearing in the trees. There stood the warehouse Christine had showed them earlier. It was a stark contrast to the rest of the area around them. It was oddly comforting to see some sort of evidence of life out here. The group stopped at the edge of the clearing and looked to Michael.

"Annie, Christine and I will circle round to the backdoor. Wait for my signal before entering" Michael ordered before running off to the left with Christine and Annie following behind him.

Katheryn and Ratchet ducked down behind a fallen tree where they could keep an eye on the front door. There was no one else but them which made the pair feel uneasy. Surely if this was being used as a DESTROY base then wouldn't there be guards? A quick sweep over the front showed them that there weren't any obvious security cameras nor any code locks or biometric locks. Just a singular silver chain and padlock weaved through the door handles.

"I don't like this" Ratchet muttered,

"Me neither, something doesn't feel right" Katheryn tilted her head, "Maybe it's a trap?"

"Oh, this is definitely a trap. Eve said she was going to challenge me, I guess this is how"

"What is she trying to challenge? If you're dumb enough to walk into a trap?"

Ratchet was silent for a moment as he considered it, "Or am I willing to risk walking into a trap if it meant a chance of getting answers." He gave a small half-smile, "I guess thankfully for all of us I am dumb enough to walk into a trap"

"I'm glad you're an idiot, then" Katheryn looked to Ratchet as he laughed quietly as he watched the door in front. She had heard a lot about him before now. Reports on his heroics, magazine articles about what he was up to in his life, TV interviews with Clank after they had saved the galaxy yet again. He always acted like he was confident yet kind-hearted. Truth be told, Katheryn used to think it was just an act to make him seem even more heroic.

Yet here he was. Crouching beside her behind a tree in a freezing wood in the dark to help her get her brother back without a complaint or any sort of hesitation.

Katheryn put a hand to her ear, "Echo, do you copy? What is your position?"

All they received was a buzzing noise with a few words dropping in now and then,

"This…istine…dod…con…"

"We…har…read…"

"I'm guessing she's saying it's a dodgy connection and Michael is saying he doesn't read or something like that"

Katheryn sighed, "So what do we do? Do we go to them or stick to the plan?"

"Eve would want us to go to them. If we do that then she could slip out this entrance and we wouldn't know until it was too late. I say we stick to the plan and go in this way"

"Hopefully they'll figure it out on their own. We can handle ourselves in there. So can they"

Ratchet nodded, "Plus if this is a trap we'll need them to get us out. Staying separate is the best plan we've got"

"We're doing this," they both said at the same time. Katheryn held out her fist and smirked. Ratchet shook his head as he smiled and pumped her fist with his own. Something told him they were either about to bond because of this or hate each other by the time they got out. Maybe both.

Katheryn held up her fingers as she counted down from three before the duo sprinted from the fallen log to the front door and pressed themselves against the wall on either side of it. Nothing attacked them even when they were out in the open. The feeling of uneasiness was still in the air. Nothing was sitting right with either Lombax. Nevertheless, they decided to carry on. Some would call them brave. Others would say they were stupid.

"Look, that lock is brand new. Chain too" Ratchet looked to the lock and chain he had seen earlier. Katheryn was right, for a warehouse that looked pretty old the lock seemed too shiny to be the same age. So someone had been here recently. That was enough for him to feel confident enough to enter.

Katheryn grabbed the chain and pulled it apart like it was nothing to her. Ratchet had to admit, her powers were pretty cool. She threw the broken chain onto the ground and turned so she was looking at Ratchet and nodded, "Ready?"

He tightened his grip on his combustor, "Ready"

Katheryn lined herself up at the middle of the two large doors leading the way with Ratchet sidestepping from where he was to stand behind her. If they were about to receive their warm welcome then it was probably wise he remained behind his new bulletproof friend. He had never worn a bulletproof vest before and he didn't particularly fancy finding out how much damage it could take at this very moment. Besides, he told Michael he would stick near Katheryn. He was being good.

With a small grunt, Katheryn kicked open the doors, sending both of them flying backward on their hinges and slamming into the walls inside. The room was much darker than outside with no white snow to illuminate the area. Katheryn dug around her pocket and pulled out a small torch. She turned it on before passing it over her shoulder to Ratchet.

Neither of them could see anyone in sight. It was just them stood at the door and a large room full of boxes pressed against either wall. There were no gaps that they could see that a person could hide in or anything like that.

The two slowly walked in, both still on high alert. Ratchet kept his combustor in front of him in one hand as the other one clutched onto the torch which he shined around the room. Katheryn raised her right palm and filled it with energy, again not firing it but instead using it as a light source.

The room was covered in dust and smelled like rotting wood. The containers surrounding them look like they hadn't been touched in decades. Ratchet had to once again ask himself if this was even the right place. He kept inching forward desperate for some sort of clue.

He paused when he nudged something with his boot. He pointed his torch down to find the light reflected back at him.

It was a mirror. The mirror. The one that got them their reflection which led them here.

"Katheryn" Ratchet hissed, suddenly deciding to be quiet, "Katheryn look at this-"

"We're not alone…" Ratchet frowned before looking up to where Katheryn was pointing her light on the ceiling.

"Oh shi-"

* * *

"This is Christine, the connection sounds dodgy"

"We're having a hard time reading you" the trio waited in silence for the other two to respond but were met with radio interference. The only words that had managed to filter through were Echo and location. One would think it would be easy to figure out what was being said but there were a few possibilities including a location update, a request for their own location or other things such as telling them to move to a different location.

"Do we circle back to them?" Annie asked, giving up hope of hearing them over the radio. She didn't really want to go back now but if something happened and they couldn't get hold of each other then it would just lead to a complicated situation – one that could result in something happening to Erik.

"Are we really gonna let the radio stop us? We'll be fine without them" Christine shot back. She refused to turn back now, not when Erik could be sat right in front of them.

The three of them were huddled among the undergrowth in the forest facing the backdoor to the warehouse. They hadn't seen another soul since they had left Katheryn and Ratchet behind at the front, much larger door. The back door was considerably smaller, only a singular door that could only fit one person through at a time. It didn't make the ideal escape route but it was all they had to work with. All windows were way too high up to look into or climb through and it wasn't like any of them could fly

Michael gestured towards Christine, "She's right, there's too much at risk to let it stop us. Katheryn would agree. Hopefully, we'll meet up with the other two in there. If not then we go back to the ship. If they're smart they'll go there too"

Christine pulled the gun out of the waistband of her jeans as her face turned hard, "So what are we waiting for?"

Annie fiddled with the straps of her backpack as she asked, "Are you sure you're up for this? You can wait on the ship if you want"

"I can do this" Christine snapped. At this point, not even Eve herself could stop Christine from storming into the place and coming out with Erik. Her body was full of rage at the idea that Erik had been hauled up in this place and Eve decided to make his freedom some challenge for a stranger. It was that anger that would carry her through this no matter the consequences.

When neither Lombax argued she gave them a curt nod. The pair glanced at each other before settling into their line and taking off towards the back door. Just like the front door, it was unguarded with only a padlock and chain keeping it closed. No cameras. No scanners. Just a chain that could be bought at any hardware store.

When they reached the door Annie took charge, scooting her way past Christine and Michael so she was faced with the padlock herself. She gave it a quick once over just to confirm it was an ordinary padlock and not a trap. When she was satisfied she swung the backpack off her back and rummaged around for her favorite invention. Her automated lockpick. On Terra, puzzle locks like those that required a trespasser to get through were extremely rare so nearly all locks were either biometric or the basic key or code. One of Annie's first inventions, when she got to Terra, was a lockpicker that could bypass any of them quickly and efficiently. It saved having to lug bolt cutters around.

Needless to say, it was perhaps one of the most useful things she had ever invented.

Christine and Michael waited in silence as she set to work. Michael tried not to worry too much about Katheryn and Ratchet. He knew they would probably be okay but it hard to keep reminding himself that when they walking into something that was only ever described as a challenge. If it was easy it wouldn't be much of a challenge.

He believed in his team, there no doubt about that, but he was still allowed to worry about them.

His ears perked up at the sound of a lock snapping, "Got it"

Michael reached for his own gun, "Shall we?"

* * *

"Oh shi-"

Ratchet and Katheryn immediately turned off their lights in hopes of not disturbing the cluster of sleeping Mr. Zurkons hanging around the ceiling. They were immediately plunged into darkness, barely able to see each other and the area surrounding them.

"Guess we're getting a welcome after all" Katheryn attempted to joke in a hope it would help ease her fear. The Zurkons might be unable to hurt her but they could easily kill the rest of Echo. There was far too many of them for her to fight them all off at once if they decided to go after them. Then it would be her fault if they killed her friends.

"Oh, don't worry! My friends are only here if you try anything" A voice called out in the darkness. The pair immediately snapped into action, both of them pointing their weapons towards the source of the voice.

"I suggest putting those down if I was you. We don't want to make this messy" the voice clapped and the room was lit up from the florescent bulbs they hadn't noticed were hanging from the ceiling. Ratchet squinted as his eyes tried to adjust to the sudden change in light but the figure stood above them on a balcony was unmistakable.

Eve Leroux was leaning against the barriers and smiling, "So good to finally meet you in the flesh"

Ratchet slowly lowered his combustor, "Not sure I would agree"

Eve pouted, "Well that hurts my feelings."

Her gaze cut from Ratchet to Katheryn who was stood with her palms facing Eve, ready to fire them if needed, "I'd power down, sister. I don't want to have to wake them up" she pointed to the Zurkon's on the roof.

Katheryn hesitated. She glanced to Ratchet who gave her a small nod, silently telling her to do as Eve said. She just hoped Eve was the only DESTROY member here. If they distracted her then it would give the others a chance to find Erik. Katheryn looked either side of Eve and could only see the bare brown walls. The only door leading to where Eve was stood was directly behind her. That meant she wouldn't see if any of Echo walked past her.

Ratchet also knew they needed to distract Eve so he asked, "So what are we doing here? Fighting you? Or just waiting for you to trap us?"

Eve looked back to him and laughed, "Not today I'm afraid! The only trap is a good conversation. No, I just thought we should take this time to get to know each other some more"

"Something tells me you already know all about me"

"That is true, but does she? Does anyone else?"

Katheryn smirked and crossed her arms, "I know all about the Lost Hero, actually. Guess whatever you did to everyone else just didn't work on me?"

Eve's smile faltered a little, confirming what Katheryn had said. It was an accident that she remembered the Lost Hero's true identity and she knew it was the same person stood next to her. It might sound spiteful but it made Katheryn good to know she had just one-upped DESTROY itself. It didn't look like they had planned for that.

"So, you know all about me so instead why don't we talk about you? Or better yet, let's talk about your brother. Like, I don't know… where he is?"

"You'll see him eventually. No, right now it's about you, Ratchet. And me. And Sam"

"I mean it was you and Sam who told me to find Erik so chatting about the three of us doesn't exactly help, does it?"

"I'm glad to see this file doesn't lie when it talks about your wit" Eve pulled a folder out from behind her back. It was black with the word DESTROY written on it in shiny silver letters. Underneath in bright red letters was the title 'The Lost Hero'. It didn't take a genius to figure out it was all about him. "This file is the only piece of evidence that exists on this planet that proves you're the Lost Hero. If A.T.P.O got hold of this then your life here would be over-"

"I don't have a life here. You've seen that file, you know that I've been in worse situations and gotten out of them. What makes this and you so special?"

Eve gestured wildly, "We gave you nothing else to lose and a hell of a lot to gain"

Katheryn frowned, "What does that even mean?"

But Ratchet wasn't even paying attention anymore. He was looking at Eve's hand. The one clutching the folder. Something seemed off about it but he couldn't tell if it was the light or maybe he was just seeing things.

He was becoming convinced he was making it up when he saw it again. A slight flicker. Not in the same way of Katheryn's powers but in the way a light bulb flickers in a storm. Off and on. Off and on. The same way a screen flickers when there's interference from something like the weather.

Like snow, perhaps?

Ratchet tightened his grip on his combustor, mentally debating whether it was a wise idea to test out the theory he had. If he was right then they could set about finding the others and looking for Erik. But at the same time, it could even put Erik in more danger. If he was wrong then it would probably lead to a fight with Eve.

The Zurkons on the ceiling didn't exactly help him decide. There was nothing stopping them from being activated at any time.

But it had all been too easy so far. It had all been too logical so far. All the puzzles and whatnot. It didn't feel like a trap. Eve knows who he is and what he has been through in the past. She would know how to trap him. A conversation wasn't enough.

So maybe he had to activate the Zurkons. Eve could just be a decoy. Activating the Zurkons could trigger something else which could help the hunt for Erik.

If he was going to do this then he had to trust that the others would be able to go along with it. Katheryn would be with him so that make two of them fighting them at once. Katheryn's powers would probably distract them for some time so that would leave the other three with a chance to find Erik and get him out before the Zurkons would go after them.

He had to do it. He had to test his theory. And he had a feeling he knew how to.

Eve opened her mouth to speak when Ratchet aimed and fired at her with his combustor in one swift movement.

Katheryn's eyes went wide when the blast went straight through Eve and burnt the wall behind where she stood. There was a flash of light when it passed through her but not because it had hit her. No, it was quite the opposite.

It was because it passed through and revealed Eve to be a hologram projection.

"I was wondering how long it would take for you to realize. Did you really think I would just wait about here where you could easily catch me? It's cold and dusty here, for starters"

Katheryn threw a blast of energy at Eve that sailed through her and fizzled out on the wall behind, "You are the worst! Why keep us chatting here?"

But Ratchet already knew the answer, "Because she's just a decoy to distract us. She's not the trap… they are" he pointed up to the ceiling above and watched as Katheryn tensed up in realization.

Eve shrugged, "Guilty"

Katheryn turned to Ratchet, "We need to find the others before they wake up"

"Agreed"

"They're okay, probably just a little disappointed with what they have found. But hey, between them searching this place and you two being here it gave Sam enough time to escape and get out of range of your sensors. Whether or not he has Erik with him is something you'll have to find out but I will warn you of one thing. My little friends up there are on a timer and well you've got about, uh" Eve looked to her wrist, "4 minutes and 42 seconds left before they wake up… might wanna start running" and just like that Eve disappeared in a blink of an eye.

Katheryn was breathing heavily as she dwelled on what Eve had said. She became angrier at herself as she realized what it meant, "So Sam was here in our reach… and we were stupid enough to fall for the oldest trick in the book"

Ratchet reached out and put a reassuring hand on her shoulder, "Katheryn, I'm sorry about this but right now we need to think the others and get out of here"

Neither Lombax wasted time continuing to talk as they charged through the rest of the room into the door below the balcony. Both of them understanding the urgency of finding the others and getting the hell out of there before it was too late. The others didn't know the danger they were in.

Both Katheryn and Ratchet just hoped they had already found Erik. Otherwise, he was as good as dead.

They burst through the door into a dark, narrow hallway. Next to Ratchet was the metal stairs leading directly to the door where Eve had been stood previously. Ahead of them was what looked like a maze of corridors and doors. All of which looked identical to one another.

"Michael!" Katheryn yelled, her voice bouncing off the walls and doors. There was no sign of any other life in the area except for them. They couldn't see any signs of the rest of the team.

"Let's think about this logically. If you were to set a trap with a timer, where would you send everyone?" Ratchet thought aloud.

Katheryn answered immediately, "As far away from the exits as possible. The west side of the building has far more rooms than the east according to the plans. More rooms to have to check"

"Longer time to find them" the pair took off hastily. Most of the doors were already hanging open, making it easier to throw their heads in for a quick glance. They tried not to break their stride as the timer counted down further and further. Katheryn was not kidding when she said it was the side with the most rooms. Ratchet had seen everything to offices to the bathrooms. The one thing he was yet to see was the other Lombaxes.

Katheryn and Ratchet finally sprinted into the what felt like the hundredth room, both of them practically falling over when they came to a sudden halt at the sight of the rest of Echo. They were both gasping for air, their mouths moving as they tried to warn about the impending Zurkon attack but the words were unable to get out.

It was when they finally looked at the team properly they shut their mouths. They looked defeated and worn out. They were also still a trio in front of them.

"Erik?" Katheryn asked quietly.

Michael simply shook his head before standing to the side to show what was behind them. Both Ratchet and Katheryn held their breath, hoping that whatever it was it wasn't Erik's body. That all of this had been for nothing.

They were relieved when there wasn't a body but also frustrated because there was no sign of Erik at all.

Written on the faded, peeling wallpaper was a simple message, again in red lipstick.

"Congrats, my friend, you made it to the finish line. Collect your prize with only Echo eyes. Midnight, the boardwalk by the mines. Fail to follow these instructions and the brother dies" Katheryn read aloud,

"PS. Sorry to be a cliché, but I couldn't resist a rhyme" Ratchet read the last part.

"This door was the only locked one. We were about to break it open when it unlocked itself about three minutes ago" Christine explained. "This was all that was here"

"That's about the same time you shot at Eve" Katheryn quietly said to Ratchet,

He nodded before looking to the others, "This isn't a loss, okay? Don't give up hope now just because he wasn't here"

"So we're supposed to believe she's just going to hand him over there and then?" Annie questioned,

"We go and we expect a fight. We have to play her game for Erik's sake" Katheryn answered, "What other choice do we have?"

"Speaking of fights we kinda need to leave right now before we get into one"

"Huh?"

"Well, the short version is there is a lot of angry DESTROY owned Zurkons are going to be coming for us in about… one minute? So we might want to start running to the ship" Ratchet quickly explained with Katheryn nodding aggressively next to him.

The trio stared at them like they were crazy before they heard a voice faintly in the distance, "Where are you, furballs? Mr. Zurkon is coming for you!"

"Back door is straight down the corridor to the left," Christine said, already beginning to feel the adrenaline coursing through her, ready to propel her forward.

The team took off running out the room without any hesitation, Ratchet leading the way with Katheryn hanging slightly back to protect the team. It didn't take long for the Zurkons to catch up to the team in the corridor that didn't seem to end.

Shots started flying back and forth as Echo started firing over their shoulders towards the Zurkons, only taking a second to make sure they don't accidentally shoot one of their own. The room was filled with the noises of pounding footsteps, shots, and the occasional taunt from a Zurkon.

For perhaps the millionth time in his life, Ratchet wished they came with a mute function.

The temperature was dropping lower and lower as they came closer to the exit. With every Zurkon that was taken down, another one seemed to replace it. Ratchet began to question if the exit was even coming up or the air-con was suddenly playing a cruel joke on him. Except something warm blasted either between his ears or past his cheek as the Zurkons narrowly missed him. It was making him uncomfortable with how close they were getting.

Then he was suddenly back in the woods. It had gotten even darker out here so it took him a moment to realize that the hard concrete ground had been replaced by the woodland and a thick layer of snow under his boots.

"Do you think they've been designed to chase us to the ship or just out the building?" Katheryn yelled,

"I'd rather not stick around and find out!" Ratchet answered back.

So they continued on in the dark with Katheryn's question quickly answered as they heard shots hit trees and light up in the darkened wood. They barely registered the cold or the falling snow. It was like they had all gone onto autopilot towards the ship, no one questioning if they were even going the right way.

Ratchet felt a great sense of relief when the wing of the ship came into sight. His combustor was starting to run low on ammo and he had a feeling he wasn't exactly going to find an ammo crate just chilling in the middle of a forest on Terra. They had never even seen a combustor like his before and they're own guns seemed pretty old fashioned.

He so badly wanted to see the blue glow of a Gadgetron vendor.

"How many Zurkons are there?!" Christine screamed as she barely ducked in time to avoid being hit in the head by a falling branch caused by a blast.

"They won't stop coming!" Ratchet could hear the sound of Katheryn taking out more Zurkons.

Ratchet was the first one to reach the ship, finally able to take a short break from running to hit the button to open the door. As soon as there was a gap large enough both he and Annie dived in and sprinted to the controls.

Annie didn't even bother to protest when Ratchet sat in the other pilot seat and began fiddling with the controls. She just focused on getting through the launch sequence as the sound of Zurkons firing at them bounced off the steel walls of the ship.

"The shield is dropping! We're at 73 percent and dropping rapidly!" Michael yelled through to the cockpit from his chair.

"We're almost there! Almost there!" Annie finally took notice of what Ratchet was doing. Whilst she was still boosting the engines he had fired up navigation and was quickly working on the weapons system. However she frowned when he dived under the controls and began fiddling with the wires,

"Ratchet, what the hell are you doing?!" she asked as she continued the launch sequence. She watched him out of the corner of her eye as he pulled wires out of their place and rearranged them.

"Re-rerouting power from the weapons system to the main shields" he answered matter-of-factly,

"Why?! It's looking like we're going to need them!" she screeched as she watched more Zurkons descend on them,

"Shields at 36 percent! Annie, we have to go now!" Katheryn updated them,

"Few more seconds!" Both Annie and Ratchet yelled back in frustration before Ratchet gave an answer,

"The Zurkons are too close for the weapons to get them so it's better to reroute the power to shields and fly the hell out of here without getting blown out the sky! Zurkons can only last a limited time"

"You've never been on this ship before, how the hell do you know you're doing it right?!"

She could swear she heard him laugh, "I'm a mechanic. I could do this on any ship with my eyes closed"

She opened her mouth to answer back to his smart-ass comment when the controls beeped at her, "We're ready to go! Prepare to launch! Michael, what's the shield at?"

"About to hit 3 percent… wait, it's just jumped up to 99 percent?!"

Ratchet sat back down and smirked, "Never underestimate a mechanic in a panic"

Annie simply shook her head before gripping the steering. A quick glance to the screen confirmed that Ratchet had already put in the coordinates for the base. She would change them for the boardwalk once they were airborne but right now it was enough.

"Now let's get the hell out of here" she muttered before launching the ship into the air, finally allowing the team to relax a little now they were away from the Zurkons.

Hopefully a step away from the Zurkons took them a step closer to Erik.

* * *

Katheryn paced back and forth on the wooden slates as each minute passed excoriatingly slow. She kept glancing at her watch in the hope that some miracle had forced time to jump forward.

They had gotten here early and were now being forced to wait. There was no sign of anyone else on the dock except for the inpatient team. No one spoke as they waited but there was an unspoken agreement that they were all on high alert. They had had to trust Eve on word alone and given that this message was given after she had unleashed an army of Zurkons to chase them down, it was understandable that they weren't exactly at ease.

The weather wasn't exactly helping either. The end of the dock was hidden by the thick fog that even lights struggled to penetrate. The lights on the boardwalk were on but they weren't much help when it came to seeing further than 10 feet in front of them.

In the distance, a figure began to form as a shadow in the fog. It had no distinct shape other than the fact it was a person. The figure, however, did not have one of the most distinctive Lombax features – the large ears.

There were a few glances between Echo as they raised their weapons in preparation for a fight. Eve had said that she would return Erik here. At least, that's what the message said. Had they walked into another trap?

"Identify yourself!" Katheryn yelled to the figure.

There was a beat of silence before the figure called out, "Kath?"

Guns were dropped instantly at the sound of the voice. The figure reached up a pulled off a hood from their head, revealing the ears.

"Erik…" Christine muttered to herself in disbelief. Tears were already forming in her eyes as she watched Erik step out of the shadows and into the light of the boardwalk.

Erik's face broke out into a grin when he saw the team stood before him as his tired, sore body filled with relief. Right now he didn't care about the pain, he cared about the fact that he was seeing his friends and family again. He always believed he would see them again and had imagined the moment so many times in his head. But now that it was happening all he could do was smile as he shuffled towards them, the happiness he felt being the only thing able to push him forward.

Christine didn't hesitate in sprinting to him. Katheryn wasn't far behind her either. Michael and Annie jogged behind to catch up. Ratchet decided to hang back, allowing the rest of them to have this moment with Erik.

He watched as Christine reached Erik and instantly wrapped her arms around him in both a hug and to keep him upright. Erik gratefully accepted the hug and buried his face into the crook of her neck as he held her tight to him. "I've got you" she kept repeating to him as he held on like he couldn't quite believe it.

He only let go when Katheryn spoke, "I told you we were coming for you"

Erik smirked and Ratchet could instantly tell where Katheryn got it from, "Didn't doubt it for a moment" he tried to take another step forward towards her when he trembled. Both Katheryn and Christine caught him before he could fall completely, "Sorry, I'm pretty weak"

"You look like crap too but we'll get you sorted" Michael patted Erik's shoulder as he leaned against Katheryn for support,

Erik laughed, "Missed you too, Commander"

"He does have a point though, are you sure you're okay?" Annie asked concerned,

"I mean, I'm pretty sure I'm about to hit the deck. Ha, literally hitting the deck" As if on cue, Erik's legs gave out and he fell heavily forward towards the ground. His eyes snapped shut as his body gave out. Everyone rushed to grab him and help him carefully onto the ground.

"He said he's pretty weak. I think he's just passed out. We should get him to the hospital"

"I've got him," Katheryn said before picking up and carrying her unconscious older brother. The team followed behind her. All of them had a bit more of a skip in their step now they had Erik with them. Physically he was pretty weak and tired but mentally it looked like he hadn't been broken. He was still the Erik they knew.

Annie was at the back of the group lost in her own head when a red dot caught her attention. It was bouncing between the backs of the team in front of her. She frowned and turned her head to look behind but couldn't see where it was coming from.

But for someone who works in weapons, it took her far too long to realize what kind of red dot light it was. It hit her like a ton of bricks when it finally hesitated on Ratchet's arm.

Ratchet stumbled on his feet and crashed into Christine next to him as Annie shoved him with all her might. He managed to both catch his own balance and grab onto Christine's arm to stop her from also falling before the pair of them fell into the barrier separating them from the deep dark ocean next to them.

It took a moment for him to properly register the gunshot that had followed. Or Annie screaming at them to lookout.

"ANNIE!" Michael roared as he realized what had happened behind him. Katheryn spun around with Erik still in her arms.

Annie had pushed Ratchet out of the line of fire and put herself into it.

Annie had been shot.

* * *

Erik awoke to the familiar sound of a heart rate monitor and the smell of a hospital room. There was a dim light hanging directly above the hospital bed. It was easily the comfiest bed he had slept on in weeks.

The hunger pain had finally subsided, and his mouth no longer felt like a desert. A brief glimpse at his hands showed tubes going in and out of them. He still felt tired and weak but not nearly as much as before.

"Hey, you're awake" he looked to see Christine sat beside his bed smiling softly at him. He still couldn't quite believe that she was here with him again.

"How long was I asleep?"

"Couple hours but looked like you needed it" Erik looked to his sister sat the other side of him, "You were severely malnourished and dehydrated. Doctors put you on drips and gave you a sedative when we got here to help you sleep better. They seemed pretty happy to see you too"

Erik rubbed his eyes before a half-smile formed on his face, "It feels good to be missed. Where are the others?"

"They're waiting in another room. We've, uh, well we've got stuff we need to catch you up on." Katheryn patted his hand before getting up and walking towards the door. Erik's heart began to race as he worried what could have happened to the team that they have to catch him up on? Was someone horribly injured? Dead? A cyborg?

"Oh, it's nothing bad! Don't worry!" Katheryn reassured him before leaving the room.

"Christine? What's happened?"

Christine rubbed her neck awkwardly she tried to decide where to start, "Uh, well Annie was shot-"

"Katheryn said it wasn't bad!" Erik yelled, immediately panicking about his friend. Why were they so calm if Annie had been shot? Where had she been shot? Did Eve shoot her? Sam?

"Hey, it's okay! Bullet only grazed her arm. She had some stitches and the doctors are dressing it now. She got lucky" she reassured him. It sounded bad but she kind of liked it when he got so concerned over his friends. He had a heart of gold and she loved seeing it but right now it was probably best for his health to remain calm,

"Who shot her?"

"We don't know. A.T.P.O has sent a team to investigate the area for any evidence to help us out but until they send something all we can do is sit and wait. Which means you have to rest! No rushing back into work like I bet you were planning to!" she teased him.

He smirked and took hold of her hand that had been sitting next to his own, "Damn I have missed you, Christine. I don't want to lose you again"

Christine squeezed his hand, "And you won't, I promise. I'm right here"

"And you always have been for me"

"Because that's where I want to be"

Erik softly chuckled before shuffling to sit up properly in the hospital bed. He needed to look at her properly. It was the thought of seeing her again that got him through some of the darker moments of his capture. He would think of the way her nose scrunched up whenever she smiled, making her whole face light up. The way the gold flecks shone in her eyes whenever the light hit it at the right angle like golden confetti shining in the sun. To this day it still gave him butterflies. He would never understand how he got this lucky but if this experience taught him anything it was that he should never let that go.

"I love you," he said as he rested his forehead against hers.

She smiled and reached up to stroke his cheek, "I love you too. Just remind me to never leave my lipstick at your place again"

He laughed before kissing her, finally feeling at ease again. She responded just as eagerly, letting go of all her fears now that he was in front of her again. And he was okay. And still himself.

"Do you guys want a minute or…?" They broke apart and Erik looked to Katheryn,

"Send in the welcome wagon" Erik beamed. Katheryn nodded and leaned backwards to the other side of the door. She made a 'come on' gesture to those out of sight.

It was barely a second before Michael and Annie burst into the room in delight of seeing their friend. Michael was holding a small houseplant in his hands while Annie clutched onto a yellow foil balloon with her only available hand. Her other one was hidden in a sling that was holding her left arm. For someone who had just been shot she was pretty chirpy.

"We wanted to get you stuff to make you feel better so we figured a plant and a balloon might help a little!" she tied the balloon singlehandedly to the end of the bed and shuffled to allow Michael to put the houseplant down on the bedside table,

"Thanks, it really does help" Erik meant it too. He had spent too long locked in a cell with hardly any color, light or other signs of life. The balloon, combined with Annie's enthusiasm, reminded him of the sun and the plant reminded him of the outdoors he was itching to get out into.

"How are you feeling, Erik?" Michael asked,

"Much better already. It's going to take some time to make it back to my full strength but for now, I'm just glad to be alive and out that hell hole. Though I do still ache"

"The doctors are gonna swing by later to do some more testing on you. Mainly on your injuries", Christine's jaw tightened, "who did that to you? Eve?"

"Uh, no actually. She didn't lay a finger on me. It was the guards. Guess they weren't fans of mine" Erik attempted to laugh but felt the tension tighten in the room, "Eve stopped them at one point. But hey, let's not dwell on that right now, okay? What's important is I'm here again and I'm feeling better by the minute. Doctor West here says to rest so no one give me any shocks or surprises" Erik laughed at his own joke but fell silent when the others in the room exchanged glances and avoided his eyes, "what are you lot hiding?"

"Well, we're not hiding him per se-" Annie began nervously,

"Him?"

"It's just a bit of a shock but like… in a good way?" Michael tried to explain,

"Please explain to me what a good shock is"

"So we're just trying to think of how best to explain in-"

"I feel like I chose a bad time to walk in" All eyes turned to Ratchet stood at the door holding a coffee cup and smiling nervously.

Erik stared in disbelief before stuttering out, "You're a… I'm not hallucinating, am I?"

"Uh, no. He is very real" Katheryn confirmed,

"I'm Ratchet. I got here like… yesterday? So you haven't missed much"

"Um, well hello then. I'm Erik"

Ratchet nodded and took a step forward so he was closer to the rest of the group, "I know. These guys told me all about you"

Erik laughed, "All good things I hope?"

Christine nudged Erik's shoulder, "Only the best"

The group chatted for some time after that. It was mainly catching both Erik and Ratchet up on all the things that they had missed out on. Each member took great delight in teasing one another about past moments, with Erik eventually joining in by telling a few embarrassing stories that had happened before he was taken. Ratchet soon found himself laughing and feeling at ease for the first time since he arrived. He knew he couldn't stay but that didn't mean he couldn't get to know the people he would be stuck with until he found a way home.

It was after about two hours a doctor came in and politely asked everyone who wasn't immediate family members to leave. Christine didn't exactly like the idea of leaving Erik but Katheryn reassured her that he would be okay as she was with him.

The small group filed out back into the waiting room across the hall. Michael and Christine immediately made a beeline towards the vending machine in the corner of the room, chatting to each other in low voices as they looked over the selection at hand.

Annie, however, didn't join them and instead sat with a huff on one of the hard, plastic chairs. She winced as her arm jostled when she sat. Ratchet took a seat next to her. Now they were alone he felt he could tell her what he wanted to say, "You know, it's very noble to take a bullet for someone you barely know. Thank you"

Annie turned to him and beamed, "I would take a bullet if it means saving a friend and you, Ratchet, are my friend whether you like it or not"

He couldn't help but laugh, "You really are a ball of sunshine, aren't you?"

"Well, someone has to be around here. You're welcome, by the way, for the whole letting myself get shot thing"

"I guess I kinda owe you now, huh?"

She nodded, "I guess you do and I already know how you can pay me back"

She jumped up and stuck out her good hand towards Ratchet as he cocked his head to the side in confusion. She grinned and said, "You can help me figure out who the hell just shot me"

He stood up and nodded before shaking her hand, "It would be my pleasure"

What else did he have to do until Aphelion was fixed up, anyway? He did owe her. Besides, what harm could come from helping out a little here and there with the team? He wouldn't say it out loud but he did have some fun working with them to find Erik. Guess it was the thrill of a new challenge.

He might not be able to be honest to Team Echo who he really was but that didn't have to stop him from helping them out and being friends with them.

What harm could come out of that?

* * *

"I know what you're gonna say-"

"Oh, do you know? Really?"

"Listen to me at least"

"Eve, if I was you I would shut your mouth right now" Sam turned slowly away from the computer screen he had been looking at to his right-hand woman behind him. The veins on the side of his forehead were poking out as he clenched his jaw. His blood was boiling of rage with what he had just witnessed. How could Eve be so careless?

His face was beginning to turn as red as Eve's eyes when he began screaming at her, "How dare you allow something like this happen? I gave you clear orders not to use lethal methods towards Ratchet and what do you do? You almost had him shot!"

"Sam-"

"Don't even get me started on that little stunt at the warehouse with our Zurkons! You are an incompetent, useless, lying bit-"

"It wasn't me!" Eve finally screeched over Sam's ranting. "I didn't try to shoot Ratchet! Nor did I order it! There was someone else there!"

Sam took several deep breaths before asking, "Explain"

"I watched it all happen from the boat. The laser sight came from a completely different angle to where I was. Besides, you gave me these powers so why would I use a gun? Once the shot happened I checked the logs to see where every member of DESTROY was. I was the only one at the docks"

"Meaning there was someone else there who wasn't one of ours" Before Eve could so much as blink Sam slammed her against the concrete wall behind by the collar of her jacket. Her toes could just barely touch the floor as he held her up, baring his teeth as he growled, "Why didn't you take them out?"

"Like kill them or take them out on a date? Seemed like a bit of an inappropriate time to ask, sir" Eve smirked. Sam didn't scare her at all. Not even when he was basically breathing down her neck. Sam took a lot from her, she wasn't going to suddenly become his number one fan.

If looks could kill Eve would be buried deep already. She only decided to answer seriously when it looked like Sam was about to explode, "From where I was I could get a view of where they were aiming. Though they were a crap shot I could see where they were going for and guess what? It wasn't Ratchet. So I figured to let it happen"

Sam put her down slowly and took a step away. She adjusted the collar of her jacket with a huff as she watched the cogs turn in Sam's brain. She knew he would need a minute to calm down after realizing no one was trying to ruin his plan. Yet.

"So who was it they were aiming for?" Sam asked, still feeling his anger bubbling under the surface. How dare someone else make him blame the only person that he trusted (because he programmed her device that way, but to him, that didn't matter. In fact, it made him trust her more).

He would take great joy out of ripping this person apart limb from limb. But right now he needed information on who they had a vendetta against so he could find them himself before Echo figure it out or they could try again.

"It was Christine. They were aiming for Christine"

* * *

**Apologies for the delay in updating. Thank you for waiting!**

**The whole team is reunited!**

**I'm super excited for the next few chapters - it's a completely new take on a character and her origins.**

**NEXT: A Change Could Do You Good (Maybe)**


	6. Two to You

_**Two to You**_

* * *

It had been two months since Ratchet had first met team Echo. Two months since waking up from a crash on the planet Terra. Two months since he had joined A.T.P.O. Not that he had much choice in the matter. Nevertheless, it had been… something.

This meant that it had also been two months since his first mission with Echo – rescue Erik Leroux. It had been a successful mission and the perfect ice breaker as he felt at ease with the rest of the team and it seemed they felt the same way. It really didn't take long for them to bring Ratchet in on their missions and for them all to find their new rhythm together.

Since this first mission Ratchet had fallen into a routine. Wake up in a barely decorated bedroom (as up until his arrival it had served as Katheryn's guest room for the rare time she had guests) and stumble into the kitchen to complain about Terra food before getting dressed in the very few items of clothing he had and then head to the base with Katheryn.

There he would then spend his mornings working on Aphelion. Intero hadn't been lying when he said that Aphelion had been badly damaged. The good thing was that working on her kept Ratchet busy – too busy to get lost in his thoughts. He tried not to think of the manhunt that was probably happening at the exact same moment in Solana. The search party jumping from planet to planet searching for answers as to what had happened to him. They were answers that not even he had.

There would be moments where he would almost forget what had happened. It usually happened when the workshop was quiet and he would be ears deep in a mechanical issue of some description whilst working on Aphelion. He would start talking quietly, usually about whatever he was working on, before eventually getting louder and louder until he was speaking at a normal level. Then he would look up after asking a question to Clank and see nothing but the wall. Those were the moments he was reminded of just how alone he was.

It was usually after those moments he would call it a day and go back up to the main hub where he and Annie would work through their investigation into who shot at them.

With time, Annie's arm had begun to heal. The sling was gone and the large bandage had changed into a smaller plaster. Annie couldn't lie, it still hurt like hell if it ever got knocked or if she carried too much weight on that arm. Erik kept reminding her that it was perfectly normal and she just needed to let it rest but telling Annie to rest was like telling an Agorian to calm down. It was impossible and came with the high-risk of being whacked. Annie couldn't rest knowing there was someone out there who had tried to take out one of her friends – she took a bullet for it and she wasn't going to let it go easily.

That was also about the only thing going on for the team anyway. Eve and Sam were yet to pop back up on their radar so all they were doing was waiting.

After a few weeks of resting, Erik returned to work with the rest of team. That meant that Ratchet couldn't avoid the medical test any longer. Or any of the tests for that matter. Just a week after the first mission he had taken (and passed) all the tests required to allow him to take part in all future missions that Eve didn't require his attendance for. It also meant that Annie had officially gained a co-pilot even if they were yet to go anywhere.

Katheryn had, however, failed to warn him about the marksmanship test. It took Ratchet a moment to think of an excuse when Michael asked how he was impressively good at firing when he was just a mechanic.

"Oh… y'know… scaring vermin? Yeah, I never wanted to kill them so I learned to fire properly so I never accidentally killed them"

Michael somehow bought that excuse and went on anyway. Ratchet was just proud that he managed to think of something so quickly.

It was the boredom that led to him finding himself back at the very same boardwalk they were at two months ago. Annie had told him she had an idea about the mission and that was all he needed to know. He dropped what he was doing (not that it was particularly exciting anyway, he was trying to catch up on Terra culture and was simply reading a book Erik had recommended. 'Everything you've missed is in that book' he had told him. If it was then damn, this place was not that thrilling) and had followed her out the base.

That's why he was now walking several steps behind Katheryn and Annie down the boardwalk. It was weird seeing it in the day, the only time he had been here was when they got Erik back. They didn't exactly have time for sightseeing then. They had other priorities.

Ratchet squinted as the sun shone into his eyes. It sure was nicer weather than the last time they were here. Even though deep down he felt like Eve would be the kind of person to set up a smoke machine just to add dramatic effect. She really did put Nefarious to shame.

Annie turned to look at him when he asked, "Why are we back here?"

"You and I have hit a dead-end in terms of a paper trail-"

"We didn't even have one to begin with. All we had was 'person doesn't like us' and it turns out you guys have a list of people who fit that description."

In the moments he wasn't working on Aphelion or helping Annie find her shooter, he had been catching on everything Echo had done up until his arrival. And he had to admit that it was a pretty impressive list. From alien crime gangs to stopping the city from being obliterated, they had done their fair share. Though it looked like they had stepped back after Eve had been taken, they still had done enough to warrant having a fair few enemies.

"But what we do know is that whoever it was knew we were going to be here. So, Christine thinks we need to come back to the actual scene in the day so we can see it all better and Michael approved"

"Okay, but why are you here Katheryn? I thought you were helping Michael chase down leads on DESTROY's new location?"

Katheryn stretched her back as she answered, "We've also kinda hit a dead end on that and I wanted to stretch my legs so when Annie asked for my help it seemed like a no brainer"

Ratchet shrugged, it made sense to him. Besides, he wasn't exactly in a rush to return to that book and he couldn't work on Aphelion until he found some more engine parts. "So what are we looking for?"

"It's been two months, so it'll be very limited. Mainly just trying to figure out where the shot came from and hope there's something lying around. CSI said they couldn't find a bullet so hopefully, there's something else that can give us a clue to who did it"

"My money is still on Sam or Eve" Katheryn muttered.

Ratchet didn't say anything simply because Annie was stood there but he didn't agree with her. Annie said it was aiming at him when she pushed him out the way. Eve and Sam made him the Lost Hero for a reason and it probably wasn't so they could kill him as soon as they could. Eve implied they had a plan for him.

Besides, Eve had powers. So why would she shoot him in the back with a gun? And Sam just sounded like the kind of guy who doesn't shoot people in the back (the front on the other hand? That sounded like his thing).

Annie clearly had the same thought, "Tell me, Katheryn. If you were to shoot someone, would you use a gun?"

"Well, no I have my pow- I see your point"

"Okay, so Ratchet and Christine were here when I saw the red light" Annie walked over to where she had been pointing. Ratchet snapped out of his thoughts at the mention of his name. It was the same thing Annie had been repeating for weeks. She kept running through the night like she hoped it would spark an idea in her.

Already knowing what she was going to say next he walked to where she had been stood when it happened. "I was over th-" Annie stopped when she saw Ratchet, "Thank you. Can you think of anything stood there?"

Katheryn came and stood next to him, "Any idea what angle the bullet came from?"

"There's a general idea but because Annie was moving when it hit her so Christine can't be 100% sure. Both her and Erik agree though that it wasn't from directly behind. Annie's cut doesn't match it" Ratchet answered. "When did I become a detective?"

"Two months ago" Katheryn joked as she looked around. "So it came from an angle and given that it Annie's right arm and she was facing back to the shooter then it must've come from that direction..ish" Katheryn pointed to the left of the end of the boardwalk. "See anything interesting over there?"

The trio all squinted as they swept over the area. If it had been any other day they wouldn't have seen anything. Today, on the other hand, was a beautifully crisp winter morning. Though chilly, there wasn't a cloud in the sky.

And the sun was reflecting perfectly on something in the distance at the bottom of the cliffs opposite.

"You two see that too?" Katheryn asked. "What do we think?"

"Something worth investigating I say. We gotta be careful though, it could be a trap"

Katheryn snorted, "Please. I'm an expert at seeing traps. I don't think that's one"

"Says the one who walked right into Eve's Mr. Zurkon trap with me"

"Touché. Maybe we should call Michael before we have a look. Just in case, y'know?"

Annie was silent for a moment too long. Ratchet stared at her as she avoided looking at him, "Michael doesn't know we're here, does he?"

Katheryn looked at Annie, "Annie, do you have something you want to tell us?"

"…Michael would have never allowed it, okay? I got shot here! But we had nothing to work with so I figured why the hell not." Annie shoved her hands in her pockets as she turned to face the other two as she rambled on, "Michael thinks we're showing Ratchet around the city. Erik and Christine have no idea that we're here. I lied about Christine saying we should come back here during the day. Just figured you guys would be more likely to agree to look around again if a CSI told you it was a good idea" Annie kept her head hung as the pair stared at her. She knew she was putting them into danger but she had had no other choice.

Her head snapped up in surprise as she heard the pair of them crack up, "Andromeda Green, you rebellious ray of sunshine"

"I'm sure Kath and I would've still agreed to come if you had told us that"

"Wait, really? You guys wouldn't have tried to talk me out of it?"

"Annie, you and I both know that recently it's been easier to go behind Michael's back"

Ratchet was about to speak when the trio all jumped at the sound of gunshots. Katheryn kicked the bench in front over before ducking behind. Ratchet grabbed Annie and dragged her down at an angle to stop her landing on her bad arm. It would have been sweet if she hadn't crashed into his own arms, causing them both to fall quite heavily to the ground with Ratchet taking most of the force, knocking the wind right out of him as Annie landed half on him and elbowing him sharply in his upper body.

Annie looked at him and nodded, "Thanks"

"I think you elbowing me in the ribs makes us even"

"Debatable"

"Maybe next time we should listen to Michael"

"Next time?!"

"Stay here!" Katheryn ordered to the pair.

She stood up without hesitation and turned to face where the bullets were flying from. Ratchet watched in amazement as they bounced off her without her even flinching. It was true she had told him that she was bulletproof, but there was a difference between just hearing about it and seeing it for real.

The bullets landed at her feet in a sort of puddle around her boots. He reached out and grabbed one, remembering that the agents that examined the scene after Annie's shooting couldn't find the bullet and decided it must've fallen into the sea. Placing it into his pocket he looked up a Katheryn and asked, "you wanna take care of that?"

Katheryn smiled, "with pleasure"

She fired three energy shots into the direction of the bullet fire before it went silent.

"I don't wanna jinx it but I think I go-"

"Don't say it!" Both Ratchet and Annie warned her at once.

"Maybe come out of hiding slowly just in case…"

The pair slowly rose to their feet, staying enough behind Katheryn that if someone started shooting again it was likely to hit her instead of them. It felt odd to Ratchet to actually hope someone would shoot his friend, even if she was bulletproof.

"I think that came from the same direction as last time," Annie said, "though a warning would have been nice this time"

"You had a warning last time and still got shot" Katheryn looked around, "There's a motorboat down there. Whoever was shooting might hopefully still be there"

"Though they might be a little fried"

"One way to find out. All aboard!" Katheryn jumped down to the boat below. Both Ratchet and Annie had to fight to not laugh at her when she wobbled dramatically as the boat swayed under her before she planted herself firmly on the seat in front of the wheel and clung onto the sides for dear life.

"Looks like there's only room for one more, you or me?" Annie asked.

"I'll go, you take this" Rachet dug into his pocket and pulled out the bullet, "I don't wanna fall out that boat and lose it. Not after having to go through that just to get it"

Annie took it and smiled, "Yeah, I think I've been shot at enough these past few weeks"

He smiled back before following Katheryn's example and jumping below to the boat. Katheryn glared when he barely stumbled before getting his balance on the boat and sitting opposite her next to the engine, "Show off"

"Be careful" Annie called over, "They might still be there"

"We'll meet you back at the ship, okay? Wait for us there. Just in case" Annie nodded at Katheryn before walking away towards the ship.

"Annie!" Annie spun around back towards them as Ratchet called, "If we're not back in an hour, call Michael"

Annie nodded before continuing on to the ship.

"Want me to drive?" Katheryn offered.

"I have a feeling if you stand up again you'll fall out the boat" Ratchet smirked as she poked her tongue out at him. "Besides, across the entire universe, nearly all boats work the same"

"Smartass"

The pair took off with a lurch towards where the shots had come from. It wasn't immediately obvious at first but as they drew closer they saw that they had been missing from the boardwalk.

There was a small sandy patch of land at the bottom of the cliffs. Not big enough to call a beach but enough for someone to stand on and shoot towards the boardwalk.

"Do you not think it's a bit weird that CSI didn't find this?" Katheryn wondered. They were supposed to be some of the best. Yet this whole experience was making her doubt them even more. Or doubt the idea that this was not a trap.

She looked up at Ratchet as he nodded at her idea. At the risk of sounding like a fan, she trusted him simply because of who he was. He's done stuff like this before. At least she thought he had. Honestly, despite being one of very few who remembered who the Lost Hero was she was not 100% certain on everything he had done.

It's not like there was a way to go through it with him.

"You see that? That shiny thing is a gun of some kind" Katheryn's attention turned to where Ratchet was looking. He was right, the closer they got the clearer the shape became.

Katheryn grabbed her radio, "Hey, Annie? You copy?"

_"I hear you. I'm back at the ship. Anything good?"_

"That shiny thing was a gun. We're approaching now" Ratchet answered as the boat hit the ground with a jolt. Katheryn immediately stood in front of Ratchet, prepared for anything to come their way so she could protect him. Not that he probably needed that much protection. This was his thing.

_"Any sign of anyone?"_ Annie asked.

"There's no one here" Katheryn answered, "just the gun"

_"Did they leave?"_

"We would've seen them" Ratchet looked around the sand. There didn't seem to be any footprints in the sand at all. It was like no one had really been here. His attention turned to the gun. It was sat on top of some sort of mechanism that was keeping it at elbow level. It was pointing straight at the boardwalk where they had just come from.

They both slowly approached the gun. The lack of footprints had to suggest that the gun could be automatic or controlled remotely and they weren't taking their chances.

It was only when they got to the back of it they let their guard down slightly. Ratchet leaned down to get a proper look at the mechanism as Katheryn poked around at the ammunition.

"It's empty. I don't think my shooting at it stopped it. I think it used up the last of the bullets shooting at us and the timing just matched" Katheryn announced after a moment. She rubbed her chest where the bullets had bounced off, "Guess it's good we grabbed that bullet when we could"

"That's the first time I've heard someone describe being shot at as good" Ratchet turned his attention back to the mechanism under the gun. He followed the wires coming out of it to where the trigger should be and the scope. He could have sworn he had seen it before. And for some reason looking at made him think of the time Clank for some reason was telling him not to shoot himself in the foot.

"This gun's remote controlled!" he suddenly realized. He knew it looked familiar. He grabbed his radio so he could explain to both Katheryn and Annie at once, "I've seen this thing before! This exact one! In a magazine back home! I wanted to get one but Cl- my friend said no for fear I would do something stupid and accidentally modify it and shoot myself in the foot"

Katheryn raised an eyebrow, "Figuratively?"

"No, literally" He pulled the wires out the gun to disconnect it from the box below, "This box links the gun to a remote control that has a range of over 50 miles! It can attach to nearly all kinds of guns. It's top of the line"

"And you almost bought it from a magazine?" Katheryn remarked.

_"This also means it's alien! Maybe we can connect it all back up and trace the signal to whoever is using it"_

Katheryn frowned as she looked over the gun, "The gun looks like it's from here though"

"Ratchet said it can be used on nearly any gun – I guess Terra isn't an exception for once. We can have Christine look over the gun to be sure as well as the bullet"

"We'll head back now with it" Ratchet answered before sighing, "this means one thing though"

"What?" both girls asked once.

"We're gonna have to tell Michael what we're really up to"

Katheryn rolled her eyes, "This is going to be fun"

* * *

"You did _what_?!"

Michael stared in exasperation at the trio stood in front of him, all looking sheepishly back at him. They had come back in five minutes ago after both he and Erik had spent the last hour and a bit thinking they had just been exploring Zropolis City – not exploring the place where one of their own had almost been taken out.

"Why the hell did you think that would be a good idea?" he finally said.

"A bonding experience?" Katheryn answered.

Michael ignored Erik snort behind him, "Did you even consider that if the shooter knew we were going to be there the first time then they would know about the second?"

The three looked at each other. It was clear that the thought had not crossed their minds.

Michael continued on, "And look at that! They did! You two could've been killed!" His attention turned from Katheryn to Ratchet and Annie.

"But we weren't and now we have way more to go than we did before. As fun as getting shot at is, it actually did more good than harm" Ratchet tried to explain. He had a feeling Michael would probably never agree with him.

Erik sighed, "where's the gun now?"

"The mechanism for it is sat in the lab downstairs and we handed the gun and bullet over to Christine on our way back here – hopefully, she'll find something from it" Katheryn explained, glancing towards Michael as he pulled out his phone and began texting someone – presumably Christine.

"And you three? You're all okay? I don't need to patch up anyone?"

"''Fraid not, Doc. We're all good" Annie answered, "I'm gonna get started on tracing that signal. Maybe work on some shield tech whilst I'm at it because frankly, I'm done with getting shot at" and with that she took off to the workshop attached to the main hub.

"You would think she would've done that earlier" Michael said, finally speaking again since his outburst. He looked a little calmer than before but Ratchet knew it would probably be best to not do anything drastic for a bit. "I've got to go check something out as the police station, try not to get shot at again"

The remaining three watched him leave, "No promises" Erik muttered.

With Michael gone Ratchet saw this as the perfect opportunity to ask what he was about to ask before they got shot at again at the boardwalk.

"Hey, I was wondering something" Erik and Katheryn turned to face Ratchet as he asked, "I mean I'm not saying I'm innocent but what's it with you guys and Michael?"

Katheryn frowned, "What do you mean?"

"I've just kinda realized that, well, you guys seem to not wanna tell him a lot of stuff when it comes to missions," Ratchet pointed out, "and earlier you said that recently it's been easier to go behind his back. Why?"

Erik and Katheryn passed a glance at each other. It was clear this was a team thing nor was it being done accidentally. The more Ratchet thought about it, the more he realized they were doing to avoid telling Michael stuff.

"Uh, Michael used to be the embodiment of doing whatever is right, no matter what the rules say. If A.T.P.O said we couldn't do something, he would either help us find a workaround or just pretend he didn't see anything" Katheryn began,

"But then when Eve was taken he went a little…"

"Nuts"

"_Katheryn_!" Erik scolded. "He started breaking more and more rules trying to find her. To the point, we became worried about him. He was gonna get himself or someone else hurt. Or worse"

"It wasn't until Sam threatened Annie's life that he stepped back" Katheryn sighed, "Then Erik was taken, and I guess that was some sort of breaking point for him. He became far stricter on us. Said it was for our own protection but we sure as hell hated it. So we learned the only way to get things done was to sneak behind his back and deal with the consequences later"

"You only know this version of Michael, but we've known him since we were kids. He's not himself and we're just doing what we can to help people. Hopefully, he'll see what we're doing is working and go back to the way he was. Y'know?"

Ratchet nodded, "Yeah, I get it"

They were right, he didn't know what Michael was like before. He couldn't forget how calm and confident Michael always seemed to be, even when they first met. It never occurred to him that he was probably faking it. Or he saw it as a chance to start fresh. This new version of him could be the only version people would ever meet.

The trio looked over when Annie ran back out of her workshop, "Christine just texted, she's got something"

"You two go, using my powers makes me hungry so I'm gonna grab some food" Katheryn patted Ratchet on the shoulder, "If you get in trouble let me know"

"Yes Ma'am" Ratchet mocked saluted as both he and Annie walked out the room.

With them gone Katheryn turned to Erik, "Actually, I do need something from you..."

* * *

"Cool, you're here" Christine practically flung herself off her chair towards the large desk covered in equipment like microscopes and discarded cameras. "This is pretty important"

"You said you've got something?" Ratchet asked as both he and Annie watched Christine rush around the lab grabbing various objects as she went. She didn't even look at them as she flung two pairs of blue rubber gloves their way which smacked Ratchet in the face before Annie caught them as she giggled. Christine didn't even seem to notice. The pair glanced at each other with raised eyebrows before putting on the gloves.

When Christine rushed past them again Annie asked, "Christine, are you okay?"

"What? Yes, sorry. Just a lot of energy and a busy day. Cut myself so naturally, I had to fill out a mountain of paperwork because of it and then someone called in sick so I've been stuck with double the casework" Christine finally slowed to a halt behind the computer, "Sorry, that doesn't matter right now. I analyzed your bullet and guess what? It's not from Terra. Come look at this"

Annie and Ratchet walked around to the computer to where Christine had pulled up her report. Ratchet took one quick look at it before turning to the other two, "Yeah, I'm not great at this kind of science. What does this mean?"

"The metal the bullet is made from doesn't exist on this planet. So it's alien" Christine pulled a magnifying glass out her blazer pocket with one hand and grabbed a petri dish that the bullet was sat in with the other. She placed it in front of the Lombaxes before handing Ratchet the magnifying glass, "Have a look at the bullet. Notice anything weird?"

Ratchet leaned down and looked through. He could just make out several symbols etched onto the sides of a bullet.

"I ran those symbols through the A.T.P.O database. It came up with nothing. This is the same database that everyone's translators use. It's got millions of languages loaded onto it. Both Terra and Alien. And yet, it can't find this one or one even remotely similar"

Annie took the magnifying glass and looked for herself as Ratchet muttered, "I've seen nothing like this"

"I have" Annie finally spoke up, "It's from Vimton"

"You sure?" Christine asked, clearly understanding what Vimton was. Ratchet had never heard of it. "It can't be Vimton. Katheryn was right with saying the gun is from Terra and someone was sloppy. You told me they were smart and yet this gun has a serial number. That little bugger gave me all on the info including who owns it. You told me about Vimton, they wouldn't make this kind of mistake"

"Maybe someone got hold of the bullet? Someone not from… Vimton? You said you got the info on who owns the gun?" Ratchet suggested,

"Carina Henderson. She lives out in the suburbs of town. Just down the road from where I grew up actually" Christine grabbed a post-it note and scribbled down the address. "However, don't be angry at me… but I've already told Michael…"

"Christine!" Annie sighed,

"Hey, to get this info you were almost shot! Again! He asked me to tell him first!"

"How long ago did you tell him?" Ratchet asked.

"I texted him before you and he left here just before you came in. So about ten minutes ago? He said he was going to take Katheryn with him though so he's probably not there yet if he had to wait for her" Christine handed over the note with the address, "Leave now and you might catch up with him"

"Thank you for this" Annie said sincerely before taking off.

Ratchet was about to follow when Christine called him back. "Between you and me, if this is Vimton then this isn't going to be easy. Make sure the other Lombaxes don't let the past cloud their judgment, okay? They're gonna need both of us"

"Ominous but yeah, sure." Ratchet nodded before asking, "Can you tell me though, what is Vimton?"

Christine opened her mouth to explain when her phone went off. She glanced at it before looked back to Ratchet, "I'm sorry, but I've gotta get back to work. I'm sure Annie will tell you but I'm warning you, it's a slightly sore topic"

Ratchet nodded once before leaving in the same direction as Annie. Christine seemed very cryptic and it made him uneasy. The word Vimton hadn't shown up in any of their files and none of them had ever mentioned it before. Yet, one bullet and suddenly they were speaking in codes and sneaking around.

He was pulled out his own head when he caught sight of Annie ahead at a vending machine, waiting for him to catch up. She didn't smile when he approached like she normally did. She simply fell into step with him as they walked to the stairwell.

It was only when Ratchet stopped walking that Annie finally looked at him, "Can I ask something?"

Annie nodded. "Vimton. You seemed pretty shaken when you saw those symbols. Why?"

Annie glanced around to make sure there was no one around before asking, "You really don't know?"

Ratchet wasn't sure if he should mention what Christine had said, the warning she gave him. She was clearly doing it from a place of caring and she definitely knew more about the other Lombaxes than he did. And she did begin her warning with 'between you and me'. Clearly she knew someone wouldn't be happy with her saying something.

He decided against it, she had said it was a sore topic and he didn't want anyone getting angry at Christine for simply warning him. "I think I've vaguely heard of something similar but the way you're acting… this is personal, isn't it?"

"If the Vimton's are back then this entire planet is in danger. Especially us Lombaxes" Annie snapped, "So yeah, it' personal"

Two months and this was the first time Ratchet had seen Annie snap. Or be anything other than happy and optimistic. If he was being honest it was a little unsettling. He couldn't help but be reminded of when Azimuth was hesitant to answer any of his questions about the Lombaxes.

And the fact Annie was nothing like him made it unnerving.

"I'm sorry. I just…" Annie was staring into the distance, "My brother told me about the Vimton"

"Michael?" Ratchet quietly prompted.

Annie shook her head, "I had another brother. Fifteen years older than Michael and I. His name was Delta. He told me all about Vimton when I was growing up. Trying to scare me the way big brothers do"

Ratchet watched her in silence, wondering whether she was going to continue. The Lombaxes very rarely spoke about their family on Fastoon.

He knew they were all older than him. Old enough to have memories of life before Tachyon. Katheryn only ever seemed to be the only one willing to talk about it but she had only been four when they left and came to Terra – she had far fewer memories compared to the others.

She sat down on a step and hugged her knees as she began, "Back at the beginning of the Great War the Cragmites joined forces with the Vimtons. Cragmite technology was laughable compared to Lombax technology so they needed some help. Vimton was a horrible planet and the people were worse. Intelligent, strategic and dangerous. They loved a fight and the whole galaxy was on edge waiting for them to go nuts"

Ratchet sat next to her, "Sounds like the perfect match with the Cragmites"

"They formed an alliance. They provided the Cragmites with technology and the Cragmites would let them fight alongside them against the Lombaxes. So they did exactly as promised. They provided the Cragmites with all their technology. But then when it came down to the actual war itself the Cragmites turned on Vimton"

"What happened to Vimton?"

"The planet was unstable. It had been for some time. Everyone tried to warn the Vimtonians that the planet was heading towards a disaster. They refused to listen to anyone but themselves. As I said, they were smart but they ignored the signs. Then the planet went boom"

"Boom?"

Annie mimicked the sound of an explosion, "Complete planet-wide destruction. No one thought any of Vimton had survived" Annie sighed, "But I guess that might not be true"

Ratchet lightly nudged her arm, "Hey, no matter what happens we will deal with it together, okay?"

Annie finally smiled again, "Right. Together"

With Christine's warning echoing once again in his head, Ratchet pulled himself back to his feet and began walking down the stairs, "And we should probably catch up with Michael and Katheryn and get some answers"

* * *

**Sorry for the massive break between chapters! Shoutout to real life for getting in the way...**

**NEXT: ****Hello! My Name is [Rapture]**


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